It closed in January for a £7.3m refurbishment. It has served the public since 1838 and in 1988 was renamed Salford Central.
After being shut for nearly six months it has now re-opened, as an important transport link in the middle of the New Bailey business district, on the edge of Manchester city centre. But sharp-eyed passengers will notice that Network Rail has also taken the opportunity to rename the proud city.
Embossed on the glass doors at the entrance is it's 'new' name: "Salforb Central". The d has been placed the wrong way round on the glass panel.
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It is an unfortunate gaffe after the company announced this week that the station was back in business after completion of major works. It was spotted by trainee teacher, Joe Hodgson, and was an amusing end to a tale of woe.
Joe said: "When my housemate and I first moved to Manchester, a major selling point of the flat that we chose was that it was located opposite from the local train station Salford Central. Unfortunately right after we moved in it closed down for several months to refurbish the entire station meaning that I had to go to Victoria instead which was a bit annoying
"On the front of the closed station, they advertised the reopening of the station in July 2023,which just happened to be right after my course finished, and therefore exactly the time I would stop needing to use the train service regularly, much to my chagrin.
"However, imagine my surprise when the station reopened earlier this month, a few weeks ahead of schedule! Never before has a public service excelled and as a result benifited me personally. I was delighted. When I visited the station a day after it's doors reopened to the Salford community, I was nonplussed. The station did not seem any newer or shinier than it had previously looked. They have replaced the covering and lighting beside the track themselves, but otherwise don't seem to have made any alterations to the admittedly antiquated station.
"This is where I was wrong. This morning I noticed another change. A revolutionary choice in signage. It was a frisson of amusement after a frustrasting experience and made me smile. I think they should leave it as it is."
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We’d like to reassure passengers that our impromptu rebrand of Salford Central station is only temporary. This unfortunate mishap occurred during cleaning and will be rectified next week when the contractor can change it. Thanks for bringing this to our attention Joe!"
The Manchester Evening News understands that the letter d was knocked off during polishing of the glass entrance and put back in haste the wrong way.
The station began taking passengers again on June 4th Salford Central "after a five-month multi-million pound investment to provide better accessibility for passengers to get on trains," say Network Rail.
Upgrading the city's biggest station has included installing higher platforms to reduce the gap between ground level and train doors to make getting on and off trains much easier – especially for people needing ramps. Tactile paving on platform edges have been added for blind and partially sighted passengers to safely navigate through the station and access trains.
Rail bosses say the station is much more accessible for disabled people, those with heavy luggage and parents or carers with buggies and pushchairs. Though the station already had lifts to the platform before the work, the stepping distance between trains and the platform edge was too far for most trains to accommodate ramps safely.
Joanna Fielding, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said:“I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while Salford Central has been out of action during our major improvements. Because we were altering the height of the platforms the station had to be completely closed for this important work to take place. This is an important step in our commitment to making rail travel accessible for all in Greater Manchester, with more investment coming to the station in the near future.”
The £10m phase two of the station's upgrade next year, which will see a covered walkway from the lift to the platform and more accessible toilets built.
Expressing his delight at the refurbishment and getting the name of Manchester's twin city correct, Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, said: “All of our city centre stations need significant investment and we have made the case for this. I’m pleased to see improvements being delivered in Salford, and I hope to see this mirrored across our region’s other railway stations.”
Network Rail has been asked for comment on the station entrance clanger.
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