Road, Rail & Access

[Aviador]

Third platform open for business two weeks early

Congestion relieved at Manchester Airport station.

A THIRD platform at Manchester Airport station, which is used by more than two million passengers a year, has been opened formally for Northern and First TransPennine Express services by transport secretary Geoff Hoon.

Completed nearly two weeks ahead of schedule, the £15 million platform is crucial to the new West Coast timetable, relieving congestion on the approaches to Manchester Piccadilly.

It was funded by Network Rail, Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive and Northern Way, and built on land leased from Manchester Airport plc by contractors Carillion and Tony Gee and Partners for Network Rail.

During the year-long building project, a new bridge section that had to be built to carry a road over the new platform was jacked and slid into position without closing the station.

Source

 

[Aviador]

Earlier train added from Salford Crescent to airport

A new early morning train service from Salford Crescent to Manchester Airport will begin on May 18.

The First TransPennine Express Blackpool to Manchester Airport service will call at Salford Crescent at 5.55am, Monday to Saturday, arriving at the airport at 6.18am. At the moment, the earliest train to the airport from Salford Crescent is 6.47am.

Councillor Ian Macdonald, chairman of the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority’s Transport Network Committee and spokesman for Salford, said: “Good transport links with the airport are vital as they make job and travel opportunities more accessible to more people.

“We need to make sure people have the choice to make essential journeys by public transport. A small change to the timetable like this can actually make a real difference for shift workers, commuters and holidaymakers.”

GMITA, formerly the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority, has recently put forward its recommendations for the winter 2009 timetable, which will be introduced on December 13.

Source

 

[Aviador]

Euro MP in airport rail link bid

A EURO MP is asking for residents in the borough to back his quest for transport links to Manchester Airport.

Great Sankey resident Brian Simpson, Labour MEP, wants to see Warrington reconnected to the airport following its recently extended railway.

Speaking in his office in Brussels six weeks before the north west goes to the polls in the European Elections, Mr Simpson said more routes are needed to help passengers in the town.

The former teacher who was schooled in Golborne holds a passion for improving transport links. He is a member of the transport and tourism committee.

The long-term euro MP who was first elected in 1989, has lobbied Arriva Trains Wales, to extend their North Wales to Manchester service which stops at Bank Quay.

He said: “We used to have a direct service via Central Station but this was transformed some years back to the Chat Moss route, leaving the town without a direct airport service.

“I am keen that Warrington gets back a direct rail route to Manchester Airport and I know in my discussions that both Manchester Airport and the travelling public would also welcome this development.”

The dad-of-three wants people to support his proposal by writing to Bill Emrey at ORR, to ensure that the campaign goes ahead.

Already this year his idea to revamp Warrington Bank Quay station has come off with a high-profile opening and he was a leading campaigner in improvements at Warrington Central Station which saw a new disabled lift being installed.

Source

 

[News Guru]

Manchester Airport passengers warned over weekend M56 closure

Passengers travelling to Manchester Airport for the next two weekends are being urged to use public transport – to avoid getting stuck in queues as engineers demolish a motorway bridge. The M56 will be closed near the airport over the next two weekends to allow the Bowdon View bridge to be knocked down and replaced. There will also be roadworks affecting the runway tunnels between Wilmslow and Junction 6 of the M56 on the A538 Wilmslow Road dual carriageway until October 10, which could cause extra problems.

The closures will be in place from 22:00 both Friday nights until 05:00 on the following Monday. The M56 will be shut from Junctions 6 to 8 for westbound traffic, heading towards Chester, and from Junctions 9 to 7 eastbound for traffic travelling in the direction of Manchester.

Traffic travelling eastbound on the M56 towards Manchester will be diverted via the M6, M62 and M60. For traffic travelling towards Manchester Airport, the diversion will be via the M6 and A556. Delays are likely and passengers flying from the airport have been urged to take the bus or train instead.

Source

 

[News Guru]

Passengers' train derailment scare near Todmorden

A PASSENGER of a train that derailed on its way to York said the incident “could have been a major disaster”.

Crew members and 45 passengers were evacuated from the 00.38 Transpennine Express service from Manchester Airport to York, after its front wheels came off the tracks near Todmorden at about 1.45am on Tuesday.

The train was travelling through the Summit Tunnel, in Walsden in the Pennines, when it hit a block of ice, and was forced off the track and into the tunnel wall.

Nobody was injured but Brenda Duthoit, 62, who was travelling on the service to see her son in hospital in Leeds, said: “The whole incident was quite traumatic and could have been a major disaster had the train rolled over on to the track instead of hitting the wall.

“I held on to the seat in front and thought the train was going to roll over, then there was a horrible grating noise which was presumably the train hitting the side of the tunnel. The guard came in and said we had derailed.

“We were sitting in the train for quite a while because we didn’t know how far into the tunnel we were, so we were quite concerned. Then he came back and said we’d hit some ice, and said we were safe because he’d told the signalmen and emergency services. The driver and the guard were both very good, very calm.”

Another passenger, who asked not to be named, said: “I was in the middle car, and it felt as though we suddenly hit something, followed by extreme braking.”

He said he thought firefighters’ claims that the block of ice was the size of a car were “exaggerated”, saying it was about half that size.

Mrs Duthoit said: “While we were in the tunnel some ice fell on to the back of the train, and we were told to move to the front carriage because the back was unstable. It must have been massive, because it was a big crash. Once they’d rigged some lights in the tunnel, the firemen took us off the train five at a time.

“There were massive icicles hanging down from the tunnel. They must have been as big as me, and I’m 5ft 7ins tall.”

An investigation has been launched by rail authorities.

Source

 

[News Guru]

Re: Manchester Airport Road, Rail & Access Issues

Manchester Airport could be high speed rail hub

Manchester Airport could be the site for a new high speed rail station under plans being looked at ministers, the MEN reports. The newspaper says that it has been identified by the Government as a preferred location for a hub that would accommodate the new 186-mph network for England.

A Manchester line would allow commuters and travellers to reach Heathrow from the city centre in 70 minutes and central London in 73 minutes. The Department for Transport has published long-term plans for a Y-shaped route which would run from London to Birmingham initially, followed by branches to Manchester and Leeds by 2033. A five-month consultation on the scheme will launched by the Government this month.

Source

 

[Aviador]

Re: Manchester Airport Road, Rail & Access Issues

Private hire taxi firm Arrow has won a contract to provide taxi cover for Manchester airport. The company will work alongside the black cabs.

 

[pilot_ben]

Re: Manchester Airport Road, Rail & Access Issues

Aren't they based in Horsforth?!

 

[dmrodgers]

Re: Manchester Airport Road, Rail & Access Issues

Your are right Pilot_Ben, they are based on New Road Side, Horsforth, Leeds. As well as their main base at Leeds Bradford Airport they alos have a base at East Midlands Airport.

 

[News Guru]

Re: Manchester Airport Road, Rail & Access Issues

Manchester Airport to fine ‘kiss and fly’ drivers

In an attempt to reduce traffic congestion at Manchester Airport, it has announced that drivers picking up and dropping off family and friends - so called 'kiss and fly' drivers - will be fined if they do not do so in designated areas. The drop-off zones will remain free, but police will now issue on the spot fines to motorists who use restricted areas.

Airport bosses have submitted an application for a traffic order that will allow them to include the roads surrounding the airport in their exclusion zone. According to a spokeswoman for the airport this will help to increase security, reduce congestion and improve the flow of traffic.

One of the areas that will no longer be available to waiting drivers is the airport’s petrol station. Managers claim that up to 20 vehicles at a time use the forecourt as a way of bending the waiting rules.

Source

 

[kawa89]

Train Tickets buy at Manchester Airport

I would like to know how much is the price of the train ticket from Manchester Airport to Leeds if I buy on the spot at the counter? Cheers

 

[lbaspotter]

Re: Train Tickets buy at Manchester Airport

I would like to know how much is the price of the train ticket from Manchester Airport to Leeds if I buy on the spot at the counter? Cheers

Here are the latest fare prices for the First Trans Pennine train services between Manchester Airport and Leeds City Station

Fares are quoted as at 17:00 on the http://www.thetrainline.com website

- Cheapest Standard Single = £23.40p
- Cheapest First Class Single = £32.10p
- Off-Peak Day return = £23.50p (Any off-peak train. Return same day.)
- Off-Peak Return = £26.80p (Any off-peak train. Return within 1 month)
- Anytime Return = £31.20p (Travel any time of day, return within 1 month)
- First Anytime Return = £64.20p (Travel any time of day, return within 1 month.)

I hope that's of help

 

[Aviador]

Re: Manchester Airport Road, Rail & Access Issues

Arrow Cars wins two-year Manchester Airport extension

Taxi firm Arrow Cars has been handed a two-year extension to its controversial contract to provide private hire services at Manchester Airport. Leeds-based Arrow was originally handed a five-year contract by Manchester Airports Group in May last year, and now employs 20 staff at the airport. But the arrangement prompted Manchester black cab drivers to threaten legal action over what they claimed were anti-competitive practices at the Airport.

Read more at: http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... -extension

Sounds a familiar story. The black & whites haven't been overly impressed by Arrows arrival at Leeds Bradford Airport either and they are threatening similar action there. At the end of the day they offer a better service. You pay up front in a booking office, your taxi awaits you as you exit the building and you're not sprung with additional unexpected fees at the end of your journey.

 

[Aviador]

Government Investment Confirmed for Northern Hub

Manchester Airport Group has hailed the announcement that the 'Northern Hub' is to be funded in full by the UK Government.

The Northern Hub is a GBP 540million project made up of a series of works across Northern England, the aim of which is to stimulate economic growth by improving rail services. The green light for the project was given on Wednesday 25th July, which once completed is expected to add over GBP 4.2billion of economic benefits for the North of England.

Full Story: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/govern ... 2012-08-03

Good news for Manchester airport but yet again signs that our government is Manchester centric with little or no investment in transport initiatives East of the Pennines. I have no objection all all to money being given to projects primarily focused on Manchester but the money should be shared more fairly with other regions. At present it seems like there's a strong magnetic pull for any money in the pot to go straight to Manchester. It's time other regions saw some of this money instead of Manchester always being at the receiving end.

 

[Seasider]

I think that the government see London as the transport hub for the south and Manchester for the north. Any other region will have to fight tooth and nail for money to improve transport links.

 

[lysander]

Manchester Airport Group has already been granted 'Enterprise Zone' status for its £659 million Airport City development...the Northern Hub merely reinforces an already widely held view that the Manchester region is the centre of Northern development and regeneration...witness the BBC's move to Salford.

The rail investment will involve the renewal of the City's Victoria station with services from Leeds going there...This will help relieve pressure on Picadilly which is almost at its limit. Faster and more frequent rail journeys to Sheffield,Chester, Bradford, Halifax, Hull and Newcastle are promised as is some electrification

Without a rail link in sight for either DSA or LBA any rail improvements would not necessarily help the rail passenger on this side of the hill except to acesss MAN with its dedicated rail station. I just hope we will be able to afford the rail fares!

 

[News Guru]

Residents have their say on A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road

Hundreds of people have been airing their views about a major road project at a series of public meetings.

Exhibitions are being held until December 1 for residents, businesses and motorists to have their say on the A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road project – but there are only two dates left.

As part of the wider South East Manchester Multi-Modal Strategy (SEMMMS), the A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road is a proposed 10km dual-carriageway, linking the A6 at Hazel Grove in Stockport to the A555 at Bramhall, and Handforth to Manchester Airport.

Questionnaires have been posted to residents and Cheadle MP Mark Hunter is urging people to return them to ensure their views are heard.

Full Story: http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... elief-road

 

[News Guru]

Airport relief road back out for consultation

Stockport Council said nearly 9,000 people submitted responses during the first phase of consultation into the proposed relief road between the A6 and Manchester Airport.

A second phase of consultation for the A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road will be open from Monday 3 June to allow residents, businesses and road users to give their views on the emerging preferred scheme.

The first phase took place between 22 October 2012 and 25 January 2013 and asked for views on the overall scheme and more specific information on different junction options along the proposed route. The second phase of consultation will run until 19 July.

Full consultation document

Full Story: http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/ar ... ation.html

 

[Aviador]

Gtr Manchester secures £105m extra grant for Airport link road

The Government is providing Greater Manchester with an extra £105m to fill a funding gap for the £290m A6 to Manchester Airport relief road.

The funding is being topsliced from the funds that Greater Manchester could earn from its pioneering Earnback model negotiated with ministers.

Read more: http://www.transportxtra.com/magazines/ ... /?id=35511

Another government handout goes to Manchester's George Osborne's constituency?

 

[User0001]

Just like the HS2 line that has a 7 mile tunnel into Manchester, conveniently just around George Osbourne's area. Funny that!

NIMBY-ism at its finest. We want Britain to progress, long as I don't have to suffer for it....

Another reason I will not vote Tory (dirty word in my house).