A major six-month renovation of Salford Central station will take place in the New Year. Quadrant Transport looks at how it will help improve train reliability and passenger experience.
Network Rail is investing £7.3 million to overhaul Salford’s biggest railway station between 2 January and Summer 2023. The much-needed station improvements are said to provide a better travelling experience for passengers and improve train reliability across Greater Manchester
The Improvements Will Make Rail More Accessible
Improvements that will be seen include upgrading platform heights, roof canopies, railway tracks, and its signalling system.
Platforms will be raised to reduce the gap between ground level and train doors meaning ramps can be used to board all services for the first time. This will make the station accessible for disabled people, those with heavy luggage and parents or careers with buggies and pushchairs.
Joanna Feilding, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said: “This package of improvements for Salford Central will benefit the thousands of passengers who use the station each year and make it much more accessible.
“Because the work means we must close the station for six months we wanted to make people aware of the improvements to come.”
I’d like to thank people in advance for their patience and we’re looking forward to welcoming everyone back to the new and improved Salford Central station in summer 2023.
Ensuring That The Station Can Serve The Local Community Is Essential
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “All of our city centre stations need significant investment and we have made the case for this. I’m pleased to see improvements being delivered in Salford, and I hope to see this mirrored across our region’s other railway stations.”
Passengers are being given advanced notice of the station improvements as the scale of the work means Salford Central will need to be closed for six months.
During this, trains will not stop at Salford Central during this work. Instead, a peak-time rail replacement shuttle service will run every 15 minutes between Salford Crescent, Salford Central, and Manchester Victoria.
Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: “Salford Central has been serving the people of Salford and Manchester for 184 years.”
We welcome this much-needed investment, which will make a real difference to the customer experience and ensure the station can continue to serve the local community for many more generations to come.
The overhaul work at Salford Central station is an essential step in making rail travel accessible for all in Greater Manchester and beyond.