The government will invest £84m in the railway network across the North West to make trains more reliable – but the Transport Secretary has said this funding is just for 'shorter-term stuff' for one of the country's most congested bottlenecks.
Longer platforms, upgraded trackside equipment and bigger depots are set to 'transform' day-to-day journeys for train passengers, the government says. The infrastructure improvements will allow for longer trains with extra seats and fewer delays to services under the new timetable from December 2022.
However, the number of trains travelling through the congested Castlefield corridor will remain at 13 per hour at peak times, the Transport Secretary said. It comes eight years after the Conservative government promised to create two extra platforms at Manchester Piccadilly to relieve the congestion – but this was not signed off and was not included in rail plans released last year.
