Among airports, Manchester stands out for its superb rail links – in theory, at least. But why would anyone ever risk using them in practice? It’s Sunday afternoon, and I am one of many passengers caught up in the shambles that is the UK’s failing rail system. I am trying to travel home from Manchester airport to London.
There are no direct trains, and three possible connections in a row have been cancelled. I managed to get a late-running Northern train to Wilmslow in Cheshire, with the promise of being able to change for a service to Crewe. That connection is currently 40 minutes late, oh, and will be terminating one stop short of Crewe, at Sandbach. It is also in the way of the following Transport for Wales train, which shows some promise of making it all the way to Crewe and beyond. But since both delayed trains are supposed to depart from platform 4 at the same instant, I am taking nothing for granted.
