Wednesday 7 Oct 2026
£115m investment takes flight at Manchester Airport station
- Region & Route:
- North West & Central
- | North West & Central: North West
A major £115 million investment into Manchester Airport station will start this Winter to improve future connectivity at one of the Britain's most important transport hubs.
Network Rail and its contractor Kier will deliver the significant upgrades between now and 2028.
The investment will see:
- Platforms 1, 2 and 3 extended to allow more trains to serve them
- Upgrades to track layouts on the approach to the station
- Signalling systems for trains upgraded and modernised
For future rail passengers, the upgrades will create additional capacity, support the operation of more trains and help deliver more reliable and efficient journeys.
The project is part of the wider Manchester Rail Upgrade*, to build a bigger, more reliable and better-connected railway for millions of passengers across the North West.
It will also support future passenger growth and improve connections to the airport, helping to strengthen Manchester Airport's role as a gateway for business, tourism and international travel.
This investment highlights how public ownership of the railways under Great British Railways (GBR)* can deliver for passengers.
Rail Minister Lord Hendy, said: “Manchester Airport is a vital transport hub and this £115 million investment from government will deliver more reliable services, increase capacity, and improve connections for the millions of passengers who use the station every year.
“This is the sort of improvement Great British Railways will be designed to deliver. By bringing track and train closer together under public ownership, we can take a more joined-up approach to investing in the railway, improving performance, putting passengers at the heart of every decision and growing the economy in the North.”
The first major stage of the programme will take place on Sunday 6 December 2026, when Manchester Airport station will be temporarily closed for one day.
During this time, engineers will install a utility bridge across the railway which will house electrical cables.
This will allow a bridge structure used by Manchester Airport Group to be removed at Easter 2027, before a new one is constructed later in the year.
Simon Daly, Network Rail senior sponsor, said: "This £115 million investment represents a major commitment to improving one of the country's most important transport interchanges.
"Manchester Airport station plays a vital role in connecting people across the country so these improvements will create more capacity for passengers, allow longer trains to serve the station and improve the reliability of services for years to come.
"The station closure on 6 December is an important first step in delivering these benefits. We recognise that any disruption is inconvenient and have worked closely with our partners to put plans in place, so passengers are kept on the move."
Network Rail is working closely with Manchester Airport Group, Transport for Greater Manchester and train operators to minimise disruption and keep customers moving throughout the closure.
Chris Nutton, TransPennine Express major projects & TRU director, said: “We’d like to thank our customers in advance for their patience while this major investment is delivered at Manchester Airport station. The £115 million upgrade will bring long-term benefits for everyone who travels through the station, creating more capacity, improving reliability and supporting more frequent services in the future.
“We are working closely with Network Rail and our industry partners to minimise disruption during the work and would encourage customers to check their journey before travelling while these essential upgrades are taking place.”
Manchester Airport station will be closed for one day on Sunday 6 December 2026 to allow engineers to safely begin work. The station will reopen as normal on Monday 7 December.
Rail replacement buses will operate between Wilmslow and Manchester Airport, with additional staff on hand to assist customers throughout the day. Metrolink services will not be affected by the work.
Passengers planning to travel to or from Manchester Airport by rail are encouraged to check their journey before travelling and allow extra time.
For more information on the project, please visit: www.networkrail.co.uk/manchester-airport-station
Notes to Editors
*Great British Railways
GBR will bring track and train together under integrated leadership teams, creating a more joined-up approach to running and improving the railway. By combining responsibility for infrastructure and train services, GBR will be able to make better use of resources, fix problems faster, take a whole-system approach to performance, and deliver upgrades and enhancements more efficiently for passengers and customers.
This approach will help ensure investment is prioritised where it can make the biggest difference, supporting more reliable services and a better experience for passengers.
Improvements are already being delivered as the railway moves towards Great British Railways, including simpler fares trials, expanded pay-as-you-go ticketing and the first fares freeze in 30 years. Investments like Manchester Airport station will help create the stronger, more joined-up railway that Great British Railways will oversee from next year.
**Manchester Rail Upgrade
This work forms part of the Manchester Rail Upgrade (formerly called the Manchester North West Transformation Project - MNTP) which is a major investment programme to boost future rail capacity across the North West, delivering more trains, more seats and improve journey reliability.
Major projects already delivered are:
Schemes ongoing:
- New turnback sidings at Oldfield Road and Brewery Junction and overhead electric line installation in Manchester
- New signalling for the new sidings and platforms at Salford Crescent, Brewery Junction and Oldfield Road.
- Manchester Airport station remodelling: Platform extensions to allow 2x6 car trains to use the platforms at the same time and a remodelled railway junction on the approach
Projects in development:
- Revisions to the railway layout at Manchester Oxford Road alongside passenger accessibility upgrades
- Work to increase train capacity and operational flexibility at Manchester Piccadilly
Manchester Airport station work
- The closure is the first in a planned package of engineering work taking place between the end of 2026 and the middle of 2028.
- Network Rail is investing £115 million to upgrade Manchester Airport station.
- A 29-hour closure affecting rail services to and from Manchester Airport station is planned on Sunday 6 December 2026 for one day only.
- Rail replacement buses will operate between Wilmslow and Manchester Airport.
- Customer-handling teams will be in place to support passengers.
- Platforms 1, 2 and 3 will be extended to create capacity for more trains while the junction outside the station will be reconfigured to improve train movements and operational flexibility.
Contact information
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Journalists
Henry Hughes
Senior Communications Manager - North West Route
Network Rail
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henry.hughes@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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