Media centre

Wednesday 31 Oct 2007

TRANSPORT MINISTER VISITS STATION WORKSITE

Region & Route:

Transport Minister Tom Harris MP paid a visit to Manchester Airport station yesterday (30 October) to see for himself the work underway to build a third platform.

The £15 million project is being jointly funded by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority, Network Rail and Northern Way.

The Minister was in the North West at the invitation of the Passenger Transport Authority, looking at a variety of transport schemes, and took the opportunity to ride in the driver’s cab of a First TransPennine Express (FTPE) train from Manchester Piccadilly to the airport.

Network Rail’s Area General Manager Jo Kaye was in the cab with the Minister, along with Vernon Barker, Managing Director of FTPE. During the journey, Ms Kaye was able to explain in detail the philosophy behind the need for the extra platform.

“The airport station has over 300 train services in and out of it every day” Ms Kaye explained. “That means the platforms are often used by several trains at a time and this relies on them arriving at the station in the correct order.

“If a train is delayed for whatever reason on its way into Manchester en route to the airport, it could be out of sequence when it arrives and lead to even further delays. Having the extra platform will virtually eliminate the problem and so lead to significant improvements in train service reliability and punctuality.”

Rail Minister Tom Harris said "The work underway here means we can run more services, speed up journeys and cut delays. It will pay dividends, not just for passengers in Manchester but for those travelling right across the north.

"It will also mean air passengers can make a greener choice about how they get to and from the airport."

Councillor Andrew Fender, Manchester’s spokesperson on the Passenger Transport Authority, joined Mr Harris at the airport. He said: “We want to encourage more people to use public transport to reach Manchester Airport. Thousands of people already travel to the airport by train and the new platform will help to increase that number in the future. It’s vital we improve the capacity of the railway station as Manchester Airport continues to expand and I’m pleased we’ve been able to provide funding for this.”

Vernon Barker, managing director of First TransPennine Express, which manages Manchester Airport station, said: "The station is well used and expected to become even more popular in the next few years. The extra platform will provide much-needed extra capacity to accommodate the frequency of trains and the increasing numbers of passengers choosing to take the train as the best way of travelling to and from the airport."

At the airport station, Mr Harris was shown the worksite and the way the platform would integrate with the other forms of transport serving the airport.

The station at Manchester Airport opened in 1993 and is now part of a ground transport interchange. The interchange makes it easy to reach the airport by bus, coach or train. The new rail platform is due to open in December 2008.