Destination Manchester Victoria

LOCATED just north of the city centre, and serving as an interchange with the Metrolink tram system, Manchester Victoria is the city’s third busiest station after Piccadilly and Oxford Road. Today the station is something of a shadow of its former self, although the growth in rail passenger traffic in the North West over the last couple of decades has reversed some of the losses, while the opening of the Ordsall Chord at the end of 2017 has opened up new flows by allowing trains to run directly to and from Piccadilly for the first time ever.

January 1 marks Victoria’s 175th anniversary and it has seen considerable change over the years – from its origins as a terminus, through to the loss of some services to the adjacent Exchange station (closed in 1969), a period of decline in the 1990s, and eventual modernisation. However, the station is now part of a vibrant integrated transport system, including the Metrolink, and with direct services to Manchester Airport as part of the ‘Northern Hub’ project.

THE DAWN OF RAILWAYS

Victoria station was constructed by the Manchester and Leeds Railway (M&LR) in the early 1840s, although it was not the company’s first serving the city. Its original railway station had been constructed as a terminus at Oldham Road, to the east of the Victoria site, in 1839. However, the company soon realised there were significant advantages to be gained from connecting its line to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) – notably that