Manchester Piccadilly P13 & 14 new platforms

[plugwash]

Could they not have done half at a time rather than closing it? It would have required special crowd control measures (i.e. physically preventing people going down until their train was next) but with reduced numbers of passengers over the "interval" period it would surely have been workable.

I'd think it would have been pretty awkward. The island, is not especially wide with staircases taking up most of the width on some sections and narrows towards the ends. Also being a platform island on a viaduct, acess seems pretty limited.

 

[40129]

Would be helpful if all trains could stop at Deansgate to maintain connections with Metrolink trams. Made getting from Warrington to Rochdale a real pain today. To rub sslt into the wound, the train from Warrington was (as usual) signal checked at Deansgate

 

[py_megapixel]

Could they not have done half at a time rather than closing it? It would have required special crowd control measures (i.e. physically preventing people going down until their train was next) but with reduced numbers of passengers over the "interval" period it would surely have been workable.

Do you mean close one direction at a time and instruct people to double back via Oxford Road, or close one end of the island at a time and have trains in both directions stop at the same end of the platform?

 

[Chester1]

Would be helpful if all trains could stop at Deansgate to maintain connections with Metrolink trams. Made getting from Warrington to Rochdale a real pain today. To rub sslt into the wound, the train from Warrington was (as usual) signal checked at Deansgate

The platform lengths are too short for some of services that run through Castlefield. Any significant upgrade of Deansgate had been left too late. The empty plot near the end of the platforms has planning permission for a skyscraper. That will likely be built long before any platform extension. Its basically a redundant station. I would build a metrolink interchange station next to Cornbrook and close Deansgate to help standardise services through Castlefield.

 

[Kite159]

The platform lengths are too short for some of services that run through Castlefield. Any significant upgrade of Deansgate had been left too late. The empty plot near the end of the platforms has planning permission for a skyscraper. That will likely be built long before any platform extension. Its basically a redundant station. I would build a metrolink interchange station next to Cornbrook and close Deansgate to help standardise services through Castlefield.

An interchange at Cornbrook will only be useful for services from the Warrington Central direction when they run. Bit of a waste of money.

 

[Chester1]

An interchange at Cornbrook will only be useful for services from the Warrington Central direction when they run. Bit of a waste of money.

The benefit would be closing Deansgate to standardise stopping patterns through Castlefield. Passengers on services through Windsor link would lose out and have to walk between Oxford Road and St Peters Square. This is off topic though!

Its an unpopular view but if services through Piccadilly are capped at 12tph then the infrastructure is adequate. Decluttering platforms 13 and 14 has massively improved safety and replacing WH Smith with a quiet waiting area and the new screens for main waiting area have helped to. Resurfacing and installing tactile paving will finish the job.

 

[Greybeard33]

Its an unpopular view but if services through Piccadilly are capped at 12tph then the infrastructure is adequate. Decluttering platforms 13 and 14 has massively improved safety and replacing WH Smith with a quiet waiting area and the new screens for main waiting area have helped to. Resurfacing and installing tactile paving will finish the job.

Services calling at Piccadilly P13/14 are only 9tphpd in the current timetable (4 Northern, 3 TPE, 1 EMR and 1TfW). The existing infrastructure would certainly not be adequate for 12tphpd.

 

[Chester1]

Services calling at Piccadilly P13/14 are only 9tphpd in the current timetable (4 Northern, 3 TPE, 1 EMR and 1TfW). The existing infrastructure would certainly not be adequate for 12tphpd.

Wasn't the pre-covid timetable 11tph?

 

[wilbers]

+ a few freight trains as well.

 

[LowLevel]

Services calling at Piccadilly P13/14 are only 9tphpd in the current timetable (4 Northern, 3 TPE, 1 EMR and 1TfW). The existing infrastructure would certainly not be adequate for 12tphpd.

Don't forget to factor in the very long freights to/from Trafford Park that have a habit of appearing well out of path and then causing chaos on the Cheshire Lines in particular - multiple significant delays and cancellations in the last week due to freights just sitting on the Down Liverpool with passenger trains stacked behind them waiting to get into the terminal.

 

[Greybeard33]

Wasn't the pre-covid timetable 11tph?

The pre-Covid timetable was unsustainable, with dreadful punctuality performance through the Castlefield corridor. That is why the Manchester Task Force was set up and devised the reduced timetable that was implemented in December 2022.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Do you mean close one direction at a time and instruct people to double back via Oxford Road, or close one end of the island at a time and have trains in both directions stop at the same end of the platform?

The latter. It wouldn't work normally, but with strikes and reduced commuting over Christmas, if coupled with a process of preventing people accessing it until much closer to their train time I reckon it would have worked.

 

[td97]

Some photos of the half completed platform upgrade were posted in the week (post should be viewable without logging in).

Richard Helliwell MCIOB on LinkedIn: #teamstory

Since Christmas Eve, platforms 13 and 14 at Manchester Piccadilly have been closed to passengers to allow significant refurbishment work to take place. Last…

www.linkedin.com

It's planned that the tactile paving will be installed during upcoming weekend blocks in January. Along with some further modifications to the copers which will be required.

 

[td97]

It's planned that the tactile paving will be installed during upcoming weekend blocks in January. Along with some further modifications to the copers which will be required

As expected, tactiles installed on the south side of P13/14

 

[Bletchleyite]

Is there a machine that does those individual ones, or is it just a hugely slow manual job screwing each one in?

Also quite notable they're the other side of the yellow line than usual. And no red line?

 

[td97]

Further progress from a week ago. I think all the tactiles are finished now.

Kieron Peacock MICE MCIHT on LinkedIn: #manchester #newconstruction #platform #railway #construction #challenges… | 12 comments

Manchester Piccadilly platform in its final stages before completion. This has been a project that’s had it’s challenges! #manchester #newconstruction… | 12 comments on LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com

Unfortunately some future platform remedial work may be required...

 

[Bletchleyite]

I note the stupid red line has been omitted. Do they now instead bark at you if you don't stand behind the tactiles (which notably are the other side of the yellow line than at most platforms)?

 

[plugwash]

Further progress from a week ago. I think all the tactiles are finished now.

Last time I looked there seemed to be a bunch of temporary covers still over bits of the platform and sections of soft-ish tarmac which looked temporary. It also seemed like some of the new tactiles had been installed in old and/or temporary platform surface.

 

[_toommm_]

I note the stupid red line has been omitted. Do they now instead bark at you if you don't stand behind the tactiles (which notably are the other side of the yellow line than at most platforms)?

The manual tannoys following the automated announcements now just tell you to stay behind the yellow line until the train has come to a complete stop, and allow passengers to alight before trying to board.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The manual tannoys following the automated announcements now just tell you to stay behind the yellow line until the train has come to a complete stop, and allow passengers to alight before trying to board.

Are the shouty security guards still there or have they gone?

Sounds like an improvement, anyway, the red line thing was nonsense.

 

[_toommm_]

Are the shouty security guards still there or have they gone?

Sounds like an improvement, anyway, the red line thing was nonsense.

Not seen them in a while, although I imagine they might still be there on Friday and Saturday nights. It’s just the dispatcher through the week.

It always was a waste having one security screw up trying to read the destination station and departure time immediately following the automated tannoy, then have three of them shout at you. I always used to either ignore them or shout at them back as of course the sensible thing is to move towards the side of the door when your train is arriving.

 

[D365]

can anybody clarify what the intention of the red line was?

 

[Moonshot]

Last weekend saw a passenger fall inbetween train and platform edge onto the track.

 

[Bletchleyite]

can anybody clarify what the intention of the red line was?

I think the idea was to keep people back until the train had unloaded and then call it for boarding, but it didn't work that way in practice.

Last weekend saw a passenger fall inbetween train and platform edge onto the track.

That could happen anywhere; crossing the red or yellow line isn't really relevant to it because once the train has stopped you can cross them. What the yellow line does do is allow a clear "dispatch corridor" so an incident like that is less likely to go unseen.

 

[td97]

Last weekend saw a passenger fall inbetween train and platform edge onto the track.

Unfortunately unsurprising

That could happen anywhere;

Shouldn't happen here

Unfortunately some future platform remedial work may be required...

To expand on this, the platform copers were installed such that the gap is 50mm wider than it should be, which is out of tolerance for construction and stepping distances.
The RSSB will not be best pleased, given their insistence on compliant platform offsets caused a lot of expensive redesign and delay.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Shouldn't happen here

It physically could happen anywhere. The lowest likelihood would be on Merseyrail with their "toblerones" on the lower bodyside, though.

To expand on this, the platform copers were installed such that the gap is 50mm wider than it should be, which is out of tolerance for construction and stepping distances.
The RSSB will not be best pleased, given their insistence on complaint platform offsets caused a lot of expensive redesign and delay.

Ah, so I guess more likely there? Oops.

 

[snowball]

The RSSB will not be best pleased, given their insistence on complaint platform offsets

Is that autocorrect or do RSSB insist on complaints?

 

[htafc]

Is that autocorrect or do RSSB insist on complaints?

Usually...

 

[td97]

Is that autocorrect or do RSSB insist on complaints?

RSSB do often complain! However, "compliant" was the intended word.

 

[td97]

Is there a machine that does those individual ones, or is it just a hugely slow manual job screwing each one in?

Here is quite an interesting video about the installation method

QTS Group on LinkedIn: QTS Tactiles | 20 comments

Working on behalf of Story Contracting Limited, QTS installed 600 linear metres of surface mounted drilled tactile studs at Manchester Piccadilly Station. At… | 20 comments on LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com