Six railway stations set to benefit from new Network Rail and Transport for Greater Manchester partnership

[JaJaWa]

Six railway stations set to benefit from new Network Rail and Transport for Greater Manchester partnership
Last updated: 01/08/2023 at 10:28 AM

A new partnership between Network Rail and Transport for Greater Manchester has been announced today, with a joint aim to develop proposals for six stations in Manchester and Salford.

This partnership is the first of its kind between the two organisations and will focus on developing proposals for Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria, Manchester Oxford Road, Deansgate, Salford Central and Salford Crescent.

Network Rail says that the population of Greater Manchester is set to grow by 2,950,000 by 2031 and this partnership aims to meet the demands of future generations.

Along with the plans, the two organisations have agreed to commit to the a number of goals, including delivering an integrated transport system, considering each station a part of the community, Net Zero transport as a key focus and finally, access for all.

Commenting on today's announcement, Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill CBE, Chair of Network Rail said: “This is a landmark moment for Manchester and Salford, to see our two organisations build a partnership team to make the best of our resources and expertise. Working jointly with the Local Authorities we are putting passengers and rail services at the forefront of infrastructure investment and wider neighbourhood improvements.”

Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, added: “The ever-changing skylines across Salford and Manchester city centres reflect the extent to which Greater Manchester is growing.

“As we deliver our Bee Network plans for a truly integrated network, it is vital our rail stations – and surrounding areas – evolve to meet these demands, and this new partnership signifies our joint commitment alongside Manchester and Salford districts to delivering a modernised railway that puts passengers and local communities at its heart.”

Six railway stations set to benefit from new Network Rail and Transport for Greater Manchester partnership

A new partnership between Network Rail and Transport for Greater Manchester has been announced today, with a joint aim to develop proposals for six stations in Manchester and Salford.

www.railadvent.co.uk

 

[gordonthemoron]

Network Rail says that the population of Greater Manchester is set to grow by 2,950,000 by 2031 and this partnership aims to meet the demands of future generations.

THat seems rather a lot, do they not mean to, rather than by?

 

[jfollows]

Network Rail says that the population of Greater Manchester is set to grow by 2,950,000 by 2031 and this partnership aims to meet the demands of future generations.

THat seems rather a lot, do they not mean to, rather than by?

Given that the population of Greater Manchester went from 2.7m in 2012 to 2.9m in 2021, yes I think they do. 2,868,400 in 2021 according to https://www.visitnorthwest.com/population/greater-manchester/
So +0.8m by 2031 compared to 2021.

 

[Llandudno]

No mention of any improvements to Patricroft, Eccles, Belle Vue or Ashburys!

 

[td97]

No mention of any improvements to Patricroft, Eccles, Belle Vue or Ashburys!

Nor Manchester Airport, which is due to receive the biggest upgrade of them all!

 

[WatcherZero]

Its the city centre stations mostly run by Network Rail at present, step towards integrating all the rail stations in the county with other public transport as pledged in the last Budget.

 

[plugwash]

Sorry if i'm missing something, but I had a quick look at the article and I couldn't see which 6 stations were supposed to be benefiting from this partnership.

 

[snowball]

Sorry if i'm missing something, but I had a quick look at the article and I couldn't see which 6 stations were supposed to be benefiting from this partnership.

It's in the second paragraph (which is also the second sentence):

This partnership is the first of its kind between the two organisations and will focus on developing proposals for Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria, Manchester Oxford Road, Deansgate, Salford Central and Salford Crescent.

 

[BeccaOnATrain]

Network Rail says that the population of Greater Manchester is set to grow by 2,950,000 by 2031 and this partnership aims to meet the demands of future generations.

THat seems rather a lot, do they not mean to, rather than by?

I think they mean 'to'. I couldn't find a reference to this figure other than a line in Wikipedia which has also been referenced on another website reporting on this topic - direct copy and paste on that one!

Network Rail and Transport for Greater Manchester partner up to drive regional rail regeneration | New Civil Engineer

TfGM described the partnership as “a major step forward” in working to “create a better-connected Greater Manchester”. Network Rail owns over 90 stations

www.newcivilengineer.com

There's a bit more information on what the "partnership" is aiming to achieve on that page - although it reads a bit vague still. Here are some of the listed goals -

• Development around stations that will take a joined-up approach to securing additional funding and maximising commercial development opportunities around the stations and assets
• Integrated transport system to deliver a modern, integrated transport system
• Towards net zero carbon strategy to ensure the journey to net zero is a key focus and is a priority for strategic decisions to support the stations
• Placemaking that considers each station within the community, heritage, and cultural context to ensure wider social value is delivered.
• Improved accessibility inside and around the stations and deliver ease of movement between the stations and the wider city

TFGM's page for the Bee Network says they expect to integrate rail services into that network by 2030 https://tfgm.com/the-bee-network

• Local commuter rail services are expected to join the Bee Network by 2030.

I guess we're going to have a lot of yellow stations in Manchester! Better put my sunglasses on.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

"Placemaking" is a new one on me.
Be interesting how that would work at, say, Salford Crescent.
It's as baffling a new word as "influencer".

What big upgrade at Manchester Airport?

 

[snowball]

"Placemaking" is a new one on me.
Be interesting how that would work at, say, Salford Crescent.
It's as baffling a new word as "influencer".

"Placemaking" is a big word in town planning circles nowadays. I first saw it two or three years ago. (Come to that, is "town planning" still used?)

What big upgrade at Manchester Airport?

At the station. Longer platforms are proposed, aren't they? I think it's been mentioned a few times on here. I imagine it would involve moving some pointwork eastwards, and maybe replacing a small overbridge connecting two car parks.

 

[WatcherZero]

Placemaking is a term that been around for a long while but its very hard to define succinctly which is why you dont see it very often outside urban planning proffessionals. Essentially its making an urban environment pleasurable to interact with (preferably by focussing on historical/cultural heritage of the location) reinforcing its functional use which then reinforces its pleasurability in a feedback loop.

To give an example a courtyard in front of a station is most efficient when its empty and free of obstacles allowing the highest pedestrian throughput, however as it gives no enjoyment people will just move through the space as quickly as possible with no incentive to linger and it will become deserted when there is low or no passenger flow from the station making people potentially feel unsafe at night, leaving them at the mercy of the weather, etc..
If you then introduce landscaping to the courtyard, possibly a row of trees along the primary path or some benches to sit on but without obstructing the primary Desire Lines of the pedestrians it will both encourage people to linger to enjoy it and bring pleasure to those people simply passing through as quickly as possible. If you tie that landscaping to the locations own history e.g. through a statue or something that resonates with the local architecture you magnify the pleasurability and give a sense of identity or character to the location.

Another good example of placemaking would be those stations that have art on the wall produced by local schools, it both brightens up the station environment and links into the local history/geography giving extra pleasure to locals who recognise their own school. At my local station for example they put poetry about commuting in the platform waiting room for you to read and provide a distraction, it also reduces without eliminating the opacity of the windows giving you a little privacy feeling without overly reducing the amount of natural light.

 

[td97]

What big upgrade at Manchester Airport?

Extensions of P1-P3 to 330m to each accommodate 2x 6x24m units. Completely remodelled junction layout with increased operational flexibility and available parallel moves.

 

[geoffk]

Placemaking is a term that been around for a long while but its very hard to define succinctly which is why you dont see it very often outside urban planning proffessionals. Essentially its making an urban environment pleasurable to interact with (preferably by focussing on historical/cultural heritage of the location) reinforcing its functional use which then reinforces its pleasurability in a feedback loop.

To give an example a courtyard in front of a station is most efficient when its empty and free of obstacles allowing the highest pedestrian throughput, however as it gives no enjoyment people will just move through the space as quickly as possible with no incentive to linger and it will become deserted when there is low or no passenger flow from the station making people potentially feel unsafe at night, leaving them at the mercy of the weather, etc..
If you then introduce landscaping to the courtyard, possibly a row of trees along the primary path or some benches to sit on but without obstructing the primary Desire Lines of the pedestrians it will both encourage people to linger to enjoy it and bring pleasure to those people simply passing through as quickly as possible. If you tie that landscaping to the locations own history e.g. through a statue or something that resonates with the local architecture you magnify the pleasurability and give a sense of identity or character to the location.

Another good example of placemaking would be those stations that have art on the wall produced by local schools, it both brightens up the station environment and links into the local history/geography giving extra pleasure to locals who recognise their own school. At my local station for example they put poetry about commuting in the platform waiting room for you to read and provide a distraction, it also reduces without eliminating the opacity of the windows giving you a little privacy feeling without overly reducing the amount of natural light.

I recognised Wigan Wallgate so you must be right!

 

[domcoop7]

The cynic in me says that "placemaking" is a term used by expensive consultants as shibboleth to signal that the person who wrote it (or cutted and pasted it from another consultant's report - as we saw on this very forum last year when Wiltshire's Bus Service Improvement Plan had references to Somerset throughout it IIRC) is one of the trendy in-crowd. Beyond that it means precisely nothing. In fact nothing in this report means anything. Which is great from a public sector organisation's point of view, because they can simply declare they have "improved connected sense of place" and declare that they have "put net zero at the heart of what we do", etc., etc., without having to demonstrate that they have actually done anything.

Development around stations will take a joined-up approach. Well development around stations is - along with development everywhere else in England and Wales not otherwise governed by a private Act of Parliament - covered by planning law, principally the Town and Country Planning Act. Salford City Council or Manchester City Council make the decisions and follow the law. Network Rail or TfGM wanting a joined-up approach is neither here nor there.

Toward net zero. There are hundreds if not thousands of pages of Network Rail net-zero strategies already (here if you're interested https://www.networkrail.co.uk/sustainability/a-low-emission-railway/). Greater Manchester Combined Authority (the parent of TfGM) "Declared a Climate Emergency" (an earlier shibboleth used in local authorities) on 26th July 2019, a process which resulted in a six figure sum for consultants back then. So what possible reason could there be for a new partnership between two organisations to do what they've already said they are doing?

Accessibility. This is something tangible when the word is used in its normal sense. More lifts, clearing clutter from platforms, etc. But they don't mean that. They mean putting a poster in one of the display units saying something like "you can catch a Bee Network Bus from stop 'AZ' located 300 metres along the road west, then cross to the Anytown street and go 250 metres south".

 

[WatcherZero]

Accessibility actually has a specific meaning, its compliance with the disability access regulations (PRM TSI), how easy it is to physically move around the environment. Easily navigating to a local bus stop through signage would actually be Integration.

 

[Norm_D_Ploom]

Oxford Rd and Deansgate are that close to each other there must be a way of closing them and combining into a single station

 

[Foggycorner]

lets hope when they do Salford Crescent that they put the roof on over the stairs and bridge that was missed off when they did them in the first place

 

[faltskog36abba]

lets hope when they do Salford Crescent that they put the roof on over the stairs and bridge that was missed off when they did them in the first place

Maybe they didn't put on the roof, To deter the local Scrotes from congregating there.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Placemaking is a term that been around for a long while but its very hard to define succinctly which is why you dont see it very often outside urban planning proffessionals. Essentially its making an urban environment pleasurable to interact with (preferably by focussing on historical/cultural heritage of the location) reinforcing its functional use which then reinforces its pleasurability in a feedback loop.

Actually I don't mean to denigrate the word or the ideas behind it.
But the language is certainly changing rapidly...

When I first moved to Mold, the Tesco restaurant had on its walls half a dozen excellent black and white period pictures of the former railway station over the years (the store was built on the old station site).
Then the re-branders came along and it became another bland place with generic artwork and zero character.
I suppose that was un-placemaking, or de-placemaking.

Extensions of P1-P3 to 330m to each accommodate 2x 6x24m units. Completely remodelled junction layout with increased operational flexibility and available parallel moves.

So who gets fired for not doing that at the last major upgrade? - the operators, fleet types and basic timetable have not changed.
I suppose it's classed as part of TRU, but it must be the 3rd major upgrade since opening.
Is the Airport paying for any of it?

 

[snowball]

I don't think it's part of TRU. I think it's part of the recommendations of the multi-agency exercise (I've forgotten its name) that followed the collapse of timekeeping after the opening of the Ordsall Chord. Others will know.

 

[plugwash]

the operators, fleet types and basic timetable have not changed.

Yes they have. There does seem to be a bit of a lack of joined-up thinking, but that isn't exactly unusual for th railway

Afaict the last major upgrade at Manchester airport was the fourth platform. This was announced in 2012, construction started in 2014 and was completed in 2015. Presumablly by the time the politicians announced it at least the basic scope of the works had been agreed on.

Manchester airport is served mostly be northern and TPE with a few trains from TFW (formerly arriva trains wales)

In 2012, 3 Car class 185s were the mainstay of TPEs fleet. IIRC sometimes they ran as doubles but more often as singles. They were supplemented by 2 car class 170s which usually ran in pairs. The Class 350s would be introduced a year later in 2013. On the northern side most units were 2 car DMUs which sometimes ran singly and sometimes in pairs.

But since then, things have changed massively. On the TPE side gone are the 2 car turbostars and 4x20m 350s. Instead we now have 5x26m 802s, slightly shorter 397s and 5 car loco haued MK 5 rates. The 185s are still here, but at least pre-covid were increasingly run as doubles. On the northern side as a result of the north west electrification scheme many of the DMUs have been replaced with EMUs and said EMUs often work in pairs.

So we have gone from being able to fit two trains in each platform in most cases, to in many cases only being able to fit one. On top of that I belive the timetable was also more intense. Presumablly there is an aspiration to increase the timetable again while avoiding the reliability collapse that happened last time.

 

[snowball]

With luck there will be no need to dig up Outwood Lane again, as happened for the two original platforms, then again for the third platform (now P1), then again for the Metrolink platforms, then again (before the last lot had been tidied up) for P4.

 

[childwallblues]

I think they mean 'to'. I couldn't find a reference to this figure other than a line in Wikipedia which has also been referenced on another website reporting on thi

• Local commuter rail services are expected to join the Bee Network by 2030.

I guess we're going to have a lot of yellow stations in Manchester! Better put my sunglasses on.

Just copying Merseyside with yellow stations!

 

[plugwash]

With luck there will be no need to dig up Outwood Lane again, as happened for the two original platforms, then again for the third platform (now P1), then again for the Metrolink platforms, then again (before the last lot had been tidied up) for P4.

When I look on google it seems the platforms already extend beyond Outwood lane. So I wouldn't think it would need to be dug up to extend them.

There does seem to be another bridge though that looks like it would need ot be either rebuilt or done away with. It doesn't seem to be carrying a public road though.

 

[snowball]

There does seem to be another bridge though that looks like it would need ot be either rebuilt or done away with. It doesn't seem to be carrying a public road though.

Yes, that's the bridge I mentioned in #11. It may have had a different function when the rail link was first built, but now seems to just connect two pieces of car park. Without it, one of them might only be accessible via the Hilton.

 

[LYRobert]

"Placemaking" is a big word in town planning circles nowadays. I first saw it two or three years ago. (Come to that, is "town planning" still used?)

Yes it is. Name with "MRTPI", = Member of the Royal Town Plannng Institute. I am a member thereof, number 11667.