Manchester Victoria station



Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is a large mainline railway station and one of nine Metrolink tram stops within the city zone. It lies to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral and is adjoined to the Manchester Arena, which was constructed on part of the former station site in the 1990s. Victoria is Manchester's tertiary station (after Piccadilly and Oxford Road) and the second busiest station managed by Northern after Oxford Road.

The station hosts local and regional services to destinations in Northern England, such as Rochdale, Bradford Interchange, Leeds, Newcastle, Huddersfield, Wigan Wallgate, Southport, Blackpool and Liverpool using the original Liverpool to Manchester line. Most trains calling at Victoria are operated by Northern, except for TransPennine Express services from Liverpool to Newcastle and during engineering works, when some trains are diverted from Piccadilly.

Manchester Victoria is a major interchange for the Metrolink light rail system. Several former railway lines into the station have been converted to tram operation. The line to Bury was converted in the early 1990s in the first phase of Metrolink construction and the line through Oldham to Rochdale was converted during 2009–2014. Trams switch to on-street running when they emerge from Victoria Station and continue southwards through the city centre to Piccadilly or Deansgate-Castlefield.

In 2009, Victoria was voted the worst category B interchange station in the United Kingdom. The station underwent a two-year £44 million modernisation programme which was completed in August 2015. Renovation entailed electrification of lines through the station, renewed Metrolink stop with an additional platform, restoration of listed features, upgraded retail units, and a new roof. In the Northern Hub proposals, Victoria will become the rail hub for trans-Pennine services when the Ordsall Chord is completed in 2018, and passenger numbers are expected to rise to 12 million when the station serves more destinations.

Origins
The Manchester and Leeds Railway (M&LR) was founded in 1836 and the company began building its line between Manchester and Leeds in 1837. Originally its line terminated at Manchester Oldham Road which opened on 3 July 1839. The company realised it would be advantageous to join the line to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) creating a through route from Liverpool to Yorkshire with a joint station serving the centre of Manchester. In 1839 Samuel Brooks, vice-chairman of the M&LR, bought land at Hunt's Bank close to the cathedral and presented it to the company for the new station. The site was in between a workhouse which had opened in 1793 and Walker's Croft Cemetery. After several years of negotiations between the companies, work started in 1842. The M&LR built an extension from Miles Platting to the station and it opened on 1 January 1844. On this date, the Oldham Road terminus was closed to passenger services and became a goods station. The new station had a 852 ft long single platform which handled M&LR trains to Leeds and elsewhere at its eastern end. The L&MR extended its line from Ordsall to Victoria and its trains operated from the western end from 4 May 1844, on which date its Liverpool Road station terminus also became a goods station.

The station was named Victoria by permission of Queen Victoria. Its long, low single-storey building designed by George Stephenson and completed by John Brogden was originally approached by a wooden footbridge over the River Irk before the river was culverted. Most of the original 1844 station buildings are still standing including part of the original façade on Hunt's Bank, and some parts have been incorporated into later expansions.

The L&MR became part of the Grand Junction Railway in 1845, which in turn amalgamated with other railways to create the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in 1846, and the M&LR amalgamated with other railways to create the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) the following year. The headquarters of the L&YR were based alongside Victoria.

Expansion
By the mid-1840s six railway companies operated from the station connecting Manchester to London, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield. Victoria Station came to dominate the Long Millgate area and was one of the biggest passenger stations in Britain.

Victoria underwent several phases of expansion as traffic grew. In 1865, four bay platforms were added at the eastern side on land reclaimed from the cemetery, and one bay was added at the western side, a second through platform was added at the northern side, and the station's facilities were expanded with a new east wing added to the station building. Two decades later, the L&YR purchased the workhouse north of the station and its site was used to build another bay and five through platforms which came into use in 1884. The same year, the LNWR opened Manchester Exchange station to the west of Victoria. Victoria reached its maximum extent of 17 platforms in 1904, when the station was enlarged to the south. The present station façade, designed by William Dawes, was built in 1909. The cast-iron train sheds behind the façade were 700 yd long.

Because the station handled large amounts of parcel and newspaper traffic, an overhead parcels carrier system was constructed in 1895. It consisted of an electrically powered trolley suspended from an overhead track operated by an airborne attendant. A large basket could be raised and lowered from the trolley to distribute parcels and newspapers across the station. The system operated until 1940.

The L&YR merged with the LNWR on 1 January 1922. A year later, the merged company became the largest constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). From 16 April 1929, Victoria had a platform link with Exchange station. A westward extension of platform 11 over the Irwell bridge was opened. It joined Exchange's platform 3 creating Europe's longest platform at 2238 ft and could accommodate three trains at once. Exchange Station closed in 1969 and its services were transferred to Victoria. The Exchange station site opposite the cathedral is now a car park.

The station suffered bomb damage during the Manchester Blitz in World War II. On 23 December 1940, several bombs hit the station destroying the parcels office, and a large part of the roof over platforms 12 to 16. The parcels office was later rebuilt, but the damaged parts of the roof were taken down and not replaced. The station came into the ownership of British Railways in 1948.

Picc-Vic Tunnel and Metrolink
In the early 1970s, the Picc-Vic tunnel project proposed building an underground station, Victoria Low Level, under the station. The scheme proposed creating a direct rail link between Victoria and Manchester Piccadilly by building a tunnel and several underground stations under the city centre. Platforms 1–4 at Victoria were taken out of use in 1973 in anticipation of the tunnel coming to the surface in that part of the station. The project was cancelled because of the high costs and transport planners turned to light rail as a lower-cost option. As a result, the stations were eventually linked by the Manchester Metrolink system which opened in the early 1990s. A street-level tramway across the city centre linked the stations and two converted rail lines to Altrincham and Bury. The tram stop at Victoria opened in 1992 to the replace the former Bury Line railway platforms, and the tram line was extended into the streets through a new entrance in the side of the station.

Downsizing
In the 1980s and 90s, British Rail adopted a policy of concentrating Manchester services into Manchester Piccadilly. In 1989, the Windsor Link chord in Salford opened, enabling many of Victoria's services from the north to be diverted to Piccadilly. That same year year, the trans-Pennine services were also transferred from Victoria to Piccadilly. As a result Victoria was reduced in size to six platforms, and part was sold for development. Between 1992 and 1994, Manchester Arena was built over the northern part of the station site. Three of the five through tracks between platforms 11 and 12 were removed, along with platforms 12-17. The station was then reduced to four through tracks and four through platforms, three of which were newly built to replace the removed platforms 12-14. These platforms were covered by the Arena which was joined to the station by means of a raft above its through platforms. The Arena is accessed via stairs on Hunts Bank and from the station concourse. Following the reconstruction, the platforms were renumbered; platforms 1 and 2 are bay platforms facing east (formerly platforms 9 and 10), and through platforms 3 to 6 (platform 3 was formerly platform 11) carrying mid-distance services.

Renovation


In 2009 the station was identified as the worst category B interchange station because of its dilapidated fabric and environment. The Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, announced that, with nine others, it would receive a share of £50 million for a refurbishment programme. Victoria's £5m share of the 'Better Stations' Network Rail funding for improvements was cancelled in the June 2010 budget cuts, but replacement funding was arranged. On 16 February 2010 Network Rail announced its intention to refurbish the station in the Northern Hub improvement proposals turning it into an interchange for local and regional services throughout north-west England. In August 2010, Network Rail announced the work would go ahead, despite withdrawal of the £5 million funding. Station improvements include an ETFE roof, restoration of its walls, exterior canopy and period features, new platforms for additional services, improved access to the Manchester Arena and improved retail and dining facilities.

The Ordsall Chord linking Victoria to Piccadilly will be operational in 2016 and additional platforms will be built by 2019 to provide extra capacity. It is anticipated that, as a result of re-routing services, passenger numbers will increase to 12 million by 2019, compared with 6.6 million in 2011/12. Construction of the Ordsall Chord will allow trains to run directly between Piccadilly and Victoria, shortening journey times on TransPennine Express routes between Manchester Airport and Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Hull and Scarborough. An express service from Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle via Victoria is operated by TransPennine Express. Reinstatement of the south and west curve at Todmorden on the Caldervale Line facilitated a direct service between Victoria and Burnley Manchester Road Station for the first time in almost fifty years. As part of Network Rail's electrification strategy, overhead electric wires will be erected from Victoria to Liverpool, Preston via Bolton, and Blackpool, and on the North TransPennine route to York via Leeds, allowing most services to be operated by electric traction.

Work on restoring the station began in April 2013. The old roof was dismantled in autumn 2013. Installation of the £17 million ETFE roof began on 4 May 2014, and the 15th and final roof beam was lifted into position on 13 October 2014. Installation of the ETFE sheeting was completed in spring 2015, and the station upgrade was completed in August 2015, with the official reopening that October.

Portions of the new roof collapsed in October 2016.

Layout
Manchester Victoria has six railway platforms and the Metrolink stop has four (four platform faces on three tracks). Two of the railway platforms are bays numbered 1 & 2 for terminating trains arriving from the east, and four are through platforms numbered 3-6 at the northern side of the station. The Metrolink platforms are parallel to, and south of the bay platforms. Only the bay and Metrolink platforms are under the new roof, Through platforms 4,5 & 6 are mostly covered by the Manchester Arena.

Architecture and features
The station's 1909 Edwardian neo-Baroque façade is 160 yd long and has an ornate iron and glass canopy covering the waiting area for taxis. The canopy bears the names of some of the destinations that the station served at one time. It was damaged by the Provisional IRA's 1996 bomb that was detonated around 400 metres from the station and was restored four years later.

A number of heritage features inside the concourse were restored during the 2013-15 renovation, they include the café with a domed glass roof which was originally the first class dining room and the original 1909 wood-panelled booking office. In the entrance is a large white glazed brickwork map showing the former network of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Underneath it is a bronze World War I war memorial with effigies of Saint George and Saint Michael at each end which was installed in 1923.

At the south end of the concourse is the 'soldier's gate' which opened to the former fish docks from where thousands of soldiers departed for World War I and where a bronze plaque was erected to commemorate them. The gateway was restored in 2015 and a steel screen inserted featuring a map of World War I Commonwealth grave cemeteries in Northern France and Belgium.

The station received Grade II listed building status in 1988.

National Rail services


Manchester Victoria is served by two train operating companies, Northern and TransPennine Express for its Liverpool to Newcastle service. It is occasionally used by CrossCountry services during engineering works. The Chat Moss route to Liverpool is operated by TransPennine Express Class 185s DMUs and Northern Class 319 EMUs The Ribble Valley Line to Blackburn and Clitheroe is operated by Class 156 and Class 153 DMUs. Leeds Calder Valley services are usually operated by Class 158 Sprinter DMUs

Sometimes night services between Manchester Airport and York operate via Victoria, but do not call and continue via Ashton-under-Lyne to rejoin the usual route at Stalybridge or continue via Rochdale and Hebden Bridge before reaching Huddersfield.

Westbound services

 * 2 trains per hour (tph) to Wigan Wallgate (via Bolton)
 * 1tph to Kirkby (via Atherton)
 * 1tph to Southport (via Atherton)
 * 1tph to Blackpool North
 * 1tph to Clitheroe
 * 2tph to Liverpool Lime Street (1 TransPennineExpress ,1 Northern stopping)

Eastbound services

 * 1tph to Blackburn via Todmorden
 * 1tph to Stalybridge (stopping)
 * 1tph to Huddersfield
 * 3tph to Leeds (2 via Bradford Interchange & 1 via Dewsbury)
 * 1tph to Newcastle (express via Huddersfield, Leeds and York)

Victoria tram stop
Manchester Victoria is an interchange with the city's Metrolink light rail system. The stop is at the northern edge of the system's City Zone and the starting point of the Bury and Oldham and Rochdale Lines. The tram platforms opened on 6 April 1992 for services to Bury which replaced the long-established heavy rail service. The tram platforms were built on the site of the former railway platforms 5 to 8, which had been the terminus of the Bury line. The line was extended into the city-centre streets via a sharp curve south from the platform ends and out through a new entrance in the wall at the side of the station; The system operates on British Rail lines that have been converted to light rail operation, linked with on-street tram tracks. In October 2009 the Oldham Loop Line was closed for conversion to a Metrolink line. It was completed in March 2014 after reopening in stages to Rochdale town centre.

The 1992 Metrolink platforms consisted of an island platform containing platforms B and C, and a side platform for Bury bound trams lettered A, which was later taken out of use due to leaks in the station roof.

The Metrolink platforms at Victoria closed temporarily on 21 February 2014. They were rebuilt in a different configuration to allow for the expansion of services. In October 2014 it was announced that Metrolink services stopping at Victoria station would not resume until early 2015. The stop reopened on 18 February 2015. The new configuration has two island platforms serving three tracks, with platform faces lettered A,B,C and D; the outer platforms A and D are for through trams, south and northbound respectively, and the centre platforms B & C, which both serve the same track, will accommodate terminating services. The stop is one of the most used on the Metrolink network.

Metrolink services
As of 2017, Metrolink services run through Victoria to Altrincham, Bury, East Didsbury, Oldham and Rochdale and Piccadilly. Services mostly run every six to twelve minutes on all routes.