Monday 4 Nov 2024
Festive travel advice for passengers ahead of Manchester Christmas Markets
- Region & Route:
- North West & Central
- | North West & Central: North West
Network Rail is keeping passengers safely on the move this Christmas, but antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated.
Passengers are being advised to plan their journeys before travelling as the Manchester Christmas Markets open this Friday (8 November).
Last year, the station welcomed over 6.6 million passengers during the festive season, and this year is set to be even busier. Passengers should check www.nationalrail.co.uk before they start their journey and check what time their train is.
Alongside visitors to the Christmas Markets, people traveling to concerts, football matches, and Christmas parties will travel by rail into the city.
Extra staff and event managers have joined the station team to keep passengers safely on the move.
Passengers are being strongly reminded that while Christmas cheer is most welcome, behaviour that crosses the line will not be tolerated.
Margaret Edge, Manchester Piccadilly’s station delivery manager, said: “Christmas is a special time at Manchester Piccadilly, and we love being a part of the festivities as people travel through the station to celebrate, or do their Christmas shopping.
“However, our priority is to keep everyone safe. If you are not able to travel safely, you will not be welcome at the station. Disruptive and dangerous behaviour, after a few too many mulled wines, puts yourself, other passengers, and our colleagues at risk. Please, be considerate of others when travelling by train this Christmas.
“We have extra staff on hand this year to help keep you safely on the move.”
Network Rail is working with the British Transport Police, Transport for Greater Manchester and train operating companies to make sure passengers and railway workers are kept safe throughout the Christmas period.
Chief Inspector James Mitchell from the British Transport Police, said: “We want everyone to be able to enjoy the festivities safely.
“We’ll have a robust policing plan in place and you’ll see an increased police presence patrolling the network to help keep you safe.
“It’s really important to remember to respect fellow passengers and rail staff - any abusive behaviour or incidents of anti social behaviour will not be tolerated.
“We urge everyone travelling on the railway to save our discreet text number 61016 to their phones and download the Railway Guardian app.”
Notes to Editors
Passengers are also being advised of engineering work this Christmas on the West Coast main line.
Trains to and from Euston station from 24 December until 2 January are expected to be extremely busy due to major rail upgrades taking place on the rail network. You are urged to ‘travel either side’ of the festive period this year during major rail upgrades.
A signalling upgrade in the Crewe area between Wednesday 25 December and Thursday 2 January means no trains will pass through Crewe on Friday 27 December. There will be no direct service to Liverpool and there will be a reduced service to Manchester from Saturday 28 December until Friday 3 January.
Passengers in Manchester are also being thanked for their patience following work to install new safety netting underneath Manchester Piccadilly’s iconic glass roof. Passengers will now benefit from an extra layer of protection, while the station’s architectural heritage is preserved.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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