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Tuesday 16 Sep 2008

NIGHT TIME IS THE BEST TIME FOR AIRPORT PLATFORM

Region & Route:

Network Rail is planning a series of late night improvement works at Manchester Airport railway station. The aim of the work is to complete the eagerly anticipated third platform on time.

The £15m project will bring welcome relief to the growing congestion experienced at the Manchester Airport station. On average eight trains arrive and depart the airport station every hour and so Network Rail has commissioned the new platform in order to ease congestion. It will bring an end to trains sharing one platform at the station which often results in delays as trains become blocked in or ‘stacked’.

Network Rail is expecting the new platform to be ready for use by 14 December when a new timetable will be introduced. In order for this deadline to be met the work will be completed in a series of night shifts throughout October. On weekdays the night work will start at 10pm and finish at 5am. Work will continue at weekends, taking place on each Sunday in October as well as the first Sunday in November. Some additional work will also take place on Sunday 21 September; this will be completed in the early hours of Monday 22 September.

The time will be used to put the finishing touches to the Outwood Lane bridge. Other tasks will include commissioning the signalling, removing hoardings from around the work site and completing any outstanding track maintenance. On the conclusion of the work, a test train will be sent out to ensure that everything is running smoothly.

Following the completion of the new platform passengers can look forward to a more flexible airport service as future timetables will offer improved reliability and punctuality.