Is Manchester United FC Halt closed?

[Josie]

According to a thread on the r/Manchester subreddit, MUFC Halt is temporarily closed, and due to permanently close in a couple of years. Nobody has any sources, though. Does anybody know any more details?

Sure the old Trafford station is now closed permanently.

Might be wrong but I'm sure I read somewhere in the last 12 months it was closed.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's not closed per-se so far as I know but I'd imagine with the strikes on at present Northern can't resource any services to it.

I'm not aware of a plan for permanent closure.

 

[telstarbox]

Presumably as a "special" station it doesn't have to have one train a week like Teeside Airport?

When the Metrolink to Trafford Park opens, Old Trafford will be within reach of three lines (Altrincham, TP and Eccles) which will provide additional capacity as well.

 

[Intercity 225]

When the Metrolink to Trafford Park opens, Old Trafford will be within reach of three lines (Altrincham, TP and Eccles) which will provide additional capacity as well.

Even so, when you have 75k people leaving a single destination at the same time with the vast majority requiring onward travel they’ll certainly still be a use for the halt. I’d be very surprised if plans are in place to close it permanently.

 

[Kite159]

Even so, when you have 75k people leaving a single destination at the same time with the vast majority requiring onward travel they’ll certainly still be a use for the halt. I’d be very surprised if plans are in place to close it permanently.

The platform isn't the widest there, and having 3 metrolink stops nearby will help spread the load.



Old Trafford Metrolink station has crowd control pens which probably allows for better crowd control

 

[Intercity 225]

The platform isn't the widest there, and having 3 metrolink stops nearby will help spread the load.



Old Trafford Metrolink station has crowd control pens which probably allows for better crowd control

Despite being a Manchester resident these days I’m not a Man U fan (Nottingham Forest all the way! ) but I have attended games at Old Trafford. As I understand it the platform is separated from the stadium and you need to show a valid rail ticket at some turnstiles in order to enter/exit between the stadium gangway and the platform? That should surely also act as a form of crowd control?

Happy to be corrected here if I’m wrong, never got the train myself to/from Old Trafford.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's a bit less convenient to serve now there is no longer an Alderley Edge to Deansgate EMU that used to just go into the platform at specific times instead of the reversing siding.

 

[Kite159]

It's a bit less convenient to serve now there is no longer an Alderley Edge to Deansgate EMU that used to just go into the platform at specific times instead of the reversing siding.

IIRC the last few times I saw it operated was with a 323 shuttle from Piccadilly to the platform, although even that with the new timetable with more trains being forced via the corridor means it is unlikely a path can be found which doesn't delay other services.

@Intercity 225 there is turnstiles by the station, however when I visited a couple years ago there wasn't anybody checking tickets when getting off the train (I guess that would cause queues to build up on the steps & narrow platform)

 

[js1000]

As others have said, the services on matchdays were generally Crewe/Alderley Edge via the Airport to Piccadilly shuttles. They simply carried on to Old Trafford, also stopping at Oxford Road and Deansgate. It was actually a simple arrangement to carry on to Old Trafford via platform 14 rather than cutting across the throat and terminating into Piccadilly.

However Northern have extended that route to Liverpool Lime Street - I imagine it's difficult to find a path. Staffing issues and congestion through Manchester don't help either.

 

[Class 170101]

Does it get used for every match or only some matches? There seem to be no trains in the system calling at the station for this evening's match against Juventus.

 

[JamesT]

Despite being a Manchester resident these days I’m not a Man U fan (Nottingham Forest all the way! ) but I have attended games at Old Trafford. As I understand it the platform is separated from the stadium and you need to show a valid rail ticket at some turnstiles in order to enter/exit between the stadium gangway and the platform? That should surely also act as a form of crowd control?

Happy to be corrected here if I’m wrong, never got the train myself to/from Old Trafford.

I've used the train once from Old Trafford on a match day. You are correct that you separately go through turnstiles to get into the station. In my experience they only started taking people through the turnstiles when the train had arrived. So you don't get crowding on the platforms but a large queue on the concourse outside the stadium, which somewhat gets in the way of people trying to leave the stadium. The time I used it I think I waited for about an hour before I finally got on a train. Whereas the times I've used the trams from next to the cricket ground it's felt faster, probably because they're more frequent.

 

[noddingdonkey]

Didn't it get effectively closed a few years ago during some heightened security after an incident (elsewhere)?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Didn't it get effectively closed a few years ago during some heightened security after an incident (elsewhere)?

It did, but it was reopened.

 

[Thomas6187]

No trains have served the station since December 2017

 

[53703]

Is there no demand for a "proper" station/service? I would've thought with the football/cricket grounds nearby and Salford Quays not a million miles away that at least an hourly stopper if not EMT stopping there too would be a decent shout

 

[Bletchleyite]

Is there no demand for a "proper" station/service? I would've thought with the football/cricket grounds nearby and Salford Quays not a million miles away that at least an hourly stopper if not EMT stopping there too would be a decent shout

The trams serve the area very well now. TBH, there's probably very little case to keep it open.

If you were building a new station on the CLC round there, Cornbrook (for tram interchange) would be the place to do it.

 

[Kite159]

Is there no demand for a "proper" station/service? I would've thought with the football/cricket grounds nearby and Salford Quays not a million miles away that at least an hourly stopper if not EMT stopping there too would be a decent shout

The problem with getting EMT stopping is that the current platform itself is located on the line towards Trafford Park freight terminal, and I believe without double checking my trackmaps, there is no access to/from the platform to the line towards Warrington.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The problem with getting EMT stopping is that the current platform itself is located on the line towards Trafford Park freight terminal, and I believe without double checking my trackmaps, there is no access to/from the platform to the line towards Warrington.

I believe you are correct; to serve it more frequently a new two-platform station would be required - no way worth the cost.

 

[pemma]

The platform isn't the widest there, and having 3 metrolink stops nearby will help spread the load.

Old Trafford Metrolink station has crowd control pens which probably allows for better crowd control

The problem with Metrolink is it doesn't carry that many passengers per working, so for those with onward connections can end up having to watch 5 or 6 trams leave before they can get on one, which can mean a long wait at Piccadilly/Altrincham/Victoria/Eccles (depending where they are heading to.)

 

[Altfish]

The problem with Metrolink is it doesn't carry that many passengers per working, so for those with onward connections can end up having to watch 5 or 6 trams leave before they can get on one, which can mean a long wait at Piccadilly/Altrincham/Victoria/Eccles (depending where they are heading to.)

In 12-months time you will be able to access the trams at Man U halt (Not sure if that's the correct name of the new stop on the Trafford Centre line); Exchange Quay; Old Trafford or Trafford Bar.
The heavy rail station is redundant.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The problem with Metrolink is it doesn't carry that many passengers per working, so for those with onward connections can end up having to watch 5 or 6 trams leave before they can get on one, which can mean a long wait at Piccadilly/Altrincham/Victoria/Eccles (depending where they are heading to.)

Whereas with a Pacer once an hour...

 

[telstarbox]

The problem with Metrolink is it doesn't carry that many passengers per working, so for those with onward connections can end up having to watch 5 or 6 trams leave before they can get on one, which can mean a long wait at Piccadilly/Altrincham/Victoria/Eccles (depending where they are heading to.)

I think most sports fans accept that there might be a bit of queueing at the end of the match (or some people sneak out a few minutes before the end!) As long as it's less hassle than driving. There are plenty of other stations near grounds which have regular crowd control set ups - Wembley Park, Cardiff Central, Twickenham, to name a few.

 

[richieb1971]

This is the problem with railways. Its always too expensive to do the little things that make common sense.

So they won't demolish the station as it stands, and they won't run trains to it. Hmmm, where I have that sort of scenario before?

 

[pemma]

Whereas with a Pacer once an hour...

Not sure what exactly you mean there. If you mean the connections at Altrincham/Piccadilly/Eccles/Victoria might be one Pacer per hour then OK. If you mean if the Altrincham route was still heavy rail it would be one Pacer per hour I don't see why that would be the case - under BR on match days there were 8 car EMUs running Altrincham to Manchester stoppers (both regular services and extras) and 4 car DMUs en route to/from Chester made additional calls at Warwick Road station (now Old Trafford Metrolink.)

 

[pemma]

In 12-months time you will be able to access the trams at Man U halt (Not sure if that's the correct name of the new stop on the Trafford Centre line); Exchange Quay; Old Trafford or Trafford Bar.
The heavy rail station is redundant.

Surely it's the passengers who decide if the heavy rail station is redundant or not. If Northern run Crewe-Stockport-Manchester-Old Trafford services on match days why would passengers from stations south of Manchester go to the hassle of changing to a tram at Piccadilly and paying extra for the privilege?

 

[pemma]

I think most sports fans accept that there might be a bit of queueing at the end of the match (or some people sneak out a few minutes before the end!) As long as it's less hassle than driving. There are plenty of other stations near grounds which have regular crowd control set ups - Wembley Park, Cardiff Central, Twickenham, to name a few.

With the exception of London Underground passengers are at least catching a service running to a public timetable so they know, for instance, if there is no chance of getting the xx:10 they can wait until the crowds have died down before travelling as the xx:20 will mean they miss their hourly connection.

 

[Kite159]

Surely it's the passengers who decide if the heavy rail station is redundant or not. If Northern run Crewe-Stockport-Manchester-Old Trafford services on match days why would passengers from stations south of Manchester go to the hassle of changing to a tram at Piccadilly and paying extra for the privilege?

Isn't the add on fare to MUFC actually more than the metrolink fare?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Not sure what exactly you mean there. If you mean the connections at Altrincham/Piccadilly/Eccles/Victoria might be one Pacer per hour then OK. If you mean if the Altrincham route was still heavy rail it would be one Pacer per hour I don't see why that would be the case - under BR on match days there were 8 car EMUs running Altrincham to Manchester stoppers (both regular services and extras) and 4 car DMUs en route to/from Chester made additional calls at Warwick Road station (now Old Trafford Metrolink.)

I mean that if a "proper" station was built there it'd be one Pacer an hour, which would be inadequate compared with the trams, and would end up the stop being skipped on match days like the Ricoh Arena was.

 

[pemma]

Isn't the add on fare to MUFC actually more than the metrolink fare?

On Metrolink adult single is £3 or £3.20 return for Piccadilly to Old Trafford with no railcard discounts. I can't find the NR fare on brfares.com

 

[pemma]

I mean that if a "proper" station was built there it'd be one Pacer an hour, which would be inadequate compared with the trams, and would end up the stop being skipped on match days like the Ricoh Arena was.

If the Pacers go by the end of 2019 you won't get a 'proper station' built before they are withdrawn. Also where exactly are you proposing the 'proper station' to go given Manchester to Trafford Park heavy rail is electrified and Northern do use 6 car 323s to Man United Halt on match days (when they aren't on strike or unwilling to work overtime)?