Northern Hub

[1] The project had several elements but the prime objective was to eradicate the bottleneck in Manchester and allow trains to travel through the city at speed without stopping.

The original proposals included an additional two through platforms at Manchester Piccadilly station which would have allowed a further four trains per hour through the Castlefield corridor, however this was officially cancelled in May 2023.

[2][6] Chancellor George Osborne approved expenditure of £85 million for the Ordsall Chord in his budget on 23 March 2011[7] and other aspects of the scheme were reviewed to ensure best value.

[9][10] Support for the scheme was vociferous from civic and business leaders, due to the high benefit-to-cost ratio, and from politicians, such as George Osborne; but was also criticised for being incremental and only improving the rail network in Northern England to "where it should have been a decade ago".

[11] The scheme had a benefit-to-cost ratio (BCR) of £4 for every £1 invested - double that of Crossrail in London and the proposed High Speed 2 project which in October 2013 had BCRs of £2.10 and £2.30 respectively.

[15] The Northern Hub was proposed in February 2010 to resolve problems around Manchester city centre that restricted route capacity and caused delays.

It is expected most TransPennine Express services will pass through Victoria after the May 2018 timetable change after the opening of the Ordsall Chord in December 2017.

At Manchester Airport station a new platform was built creating extra capacity and access for direct services from other cities in Northern England.

Burnley Manchester Road station will receive a £2.3 million upgrade before the reinstatement of a direct rail service to Victoria via the re-opened Todmorden Curve in 2015.

The Manchester Museum of Science and Industry management objected to the scheme and an inquiry was set up in 2014 to investigate potential damage to the historic structure.

[49] In June 2014, George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer stated his vision to see improved transport links between Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds to increase economic productivity.

Schematic map showing rail improvements around Manchester city centre for the Northern Hub project
Terminating platforms at Manchester Victoria in 2012, before modernisation
Approximately 90% of Arriva Rail North 's rolling stock was built in the 1980s, including the unpopular "Pacers" ( pictured ). As of 2017, the last investment in new-built rolling stock for Northern was in 1998. [ 16 ] [ 17 ]
The partially complete new roof at Manchester Victoria in July 2014
A diagram showing the Ordsall Chord.
Newly installed overhead electrification into Manchester Victoria station, in October 2015
A 1900 tiled mural of the rail network of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company at Manchester Victoria.
319363 at Manchester Oxford Road. The Class 319 provide faster journey times and greater capacity compared to Pacer trains. The refurbished Class 319 entered service in May 2015 between Liverpool and Manchester.
Ten new Class 350 were introduced to coincide with Newton-le-Willows to Manchester electrification in 2013. The trains operate on the Edinburgh to Manchester route.