Salford Central

[Meerkat]

As previously discussed, the first two issues with the platforms are (1) height and (2) number. Once there are platforms on all lines at something near to train height, then it will be time to discuss length.

no point building them if the trains can’t stop....

 

[Fawkes Cat]

no point building them if the trains can’t stop....

Please point me to the threads complaining about overlength trains from Northern ( or anyone else operating through/past Salford Central).

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Does the matter of platform heights go back to the dim-and-distant historical times when the station was the terminal station of the East Lancashire Railway line?

 

[a_c_skinner]

Salford Central is a good example of where the railway's way of planning doesn't work. There are some projects where the normal business case based way of doing things simply gets the wrong answer and plain obvious common sense needs to take over. Of course the catch is that common sense means "people who agree with me"! But this is a growing part of a big city, potential for a lot of trains and a station that is frankly a hole with platforms on a minority of its lines despite plenty of potential.

 

[yorksrob]

I seem to recall that Salford Central is another one of those stations with a massive jump down to the platform.

 

[Meerkat]

You would have thought that funding toward a Salford Spinningfields upgrade of Central would have been part of the planning permission demanded by the councils for all the neighbouring developments

 

[notlob.divad]

You would have thought that funding toward a Salford Spinningfields upgrade of Central would have been part of the planning permission demanded by the councils for all the neighbouring developments

But that is the problem with the UK in general. Over centralisation makes councils and projects compete against each other for funding. The development is predominantly happening on the Manchester side of the river Irwell, the station is on the Salford side. Manchester Council won't want to be using their council taxes to support a project in Salford despite being the biggest beneficiary. Equally Salford Council won't want to be funding a project where they are unlikely to see any of the benefit in increased income from business rates, at least until the Manchester side has filled out. Even where there is a devolved city region Mayor as in Manchester, his/her ability to raise the funding to achieve something like this is dependent upon central government and the two council areas.