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Tuesday 29 May 2007

CONTRACT AWARDED FOR AIRPORT STATION THIRD PLATFORM

Region & Route:

Network Rail has awarded a contract to Alfred McAlpine plc to build a third platform at Manchester Airport railway station. Work is expected to start in the next few weeks and the platform will be available for use in time for the December 2008 timetable. While the work takes place the station will remain open and train services will largely be unaffected. The £15 million project is being jointly funded by Network Rail, Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive and The Northern Way, and Manchester Airport plc is leasing the land needed for the extra platform to Network Rail. Train services are provided by Northern and TransPennine Express. Peter Strachan, Network Rail Route Director said: "This is a momentous step towards meeting the ever growing demands for rail and air travel. The extra platform will give us greater flexibility when planning future timetables and will considerably improve the reliability of services and the impact they have on other trains in Greater Manchester and further afield." Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA said: "Manchester Airport is the North's biggest airport handling more than 60% of the traffic through all the North's airports and is the UK's biggest airport outside London. It offers a wide range of international destinations and connections to it are very important for business, tourism and the North's economy as a whole. This scheme to increase platform capacity at the airport's rail station will improve the reliability and punctuality of rail services to and from the airport across the North. It is a great example of how the NWDA, working with partners, and the evidence led approach of the Northern Way is making a difference." On average there are eight trains an hour arriving, and then departing from the airport station. With only two platforms it means that trains are often 'stacked' with two trains sharing the same platform. All trains to and from the airport have to pass through the approaches to Piccadilly station, which is one of the most congested sets of railway lines in the country. Anything which delays a train in the Piccadilly area as it makes its way to the airport means that it could be out of sequence when it finally arrives and is 'stacked' in the platform. This would mean that a train already in the platform could be blocked in, delaying its own departure. All this can have a knock-on effect on other services both in the Manchester area and beyond. Action is being taken now to prevent the situation becoming worse when additional trains start using Manchester Piccadilly in December 2008.