Sunday closures at Victoria for latest upgrade works

Manchester Victoria station will be closed on Sundays from January 24 to April 17, as Network Rail’s £1 billion-plus investment in the north of England continues.

Construction of the Ordsall Chord, which will link Piccadilly and Victoria stations, is already under way, and at the end of January the upgrade of the Manchester-Rochdale route begins. A new platform at Rochdale will be built to increase capacity, while track renewals, bridge strengthening and signalling improvements should cut journey times.

In February the next phase of electrification between Manchester and Stalybridge begins, with upgrades to existing infrastructure in preparation for installation of the overhead line equipment. Several road bridges on the route were rebuilt last year, to provide clearance for the catenary.

Some First TransPennine Express trains will be diverted to Manchester Piccadilly during the closure, with bus replacements limited to Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge, Rochdale and Salford. Metrolink trams will continue to run as normal.

Network Rail Route Delivery Director Nick Spall said: “We are working closely with the train operators to keep as many services running as possible, so people can continue to travel in and out of Manchester on Sundays with the least amount of disruption.”