Manchester Oxford Road railway station

Manchester Oxford Road Railway Station is an elevated railway station in the city centre of Manchester, England. It stands at the junction of Whitworth Street West and Oxford Street. It opened in 1849 and was rebuilt in 1960. Historically a station for local services, the station has undergone re-development in recent years and is now the third busiest station in the Manchester station group.

It serves the southern part of Manchester city centre, the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, and is on the most-served bus route in Europe. The station consists of a ticket office, waiting rooms, automatic ticket gates, toilets, a buffet and a newsagent. It stands on a line from westwards towards Liverpool, Preston and Blackpool. Eastbound trains go beyond Piccadilly to Crewe, Leeds, Sheffield and other towns across Northern England.

The station is famous for its laminated wood structures and was listed in 1995. It is described by English Heritage as a "building of outstanding architectural quality and technological interest; one of the most dramatic stations in England."

History
The station was opened as Oxford Road on 20 July 1849 by the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJAR). The station was the headquarters of the MSJAR from opening until 1904. Initially it had two platforms and two sidings, with temporary wooden buildings. To allow for extra trains in connection with the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition in Trafford in 1857, extra platforms and sidings were built. In 1874 the station was completely rebuilt. The station then had two bay platforms and three through platforms. Further reconstruction took place during 1903-04. From 1931 it was served by the MSJAR's 1500V DC electric trains to Altrincham.

As the station had become dilapidated by the 1950s, and as part of the electrification and modernisation of the Manchester to London line, it was replaced by the current building in 1960 (architects W. R. Headley and Max Glendinning, structural engineer Hugh Tottenham). This was designed in a distinctive style in concrete and wood with curves bringing to mind the Sydney Opera House. It is a grade II listed building. In Pevsner's Architectural Guide - Manchester the following comments were made: "One of the most interesting and innovative buildings of the period was the product of the public sector...it is the most ambitious example in this country of timber conoid shell roofing."

- Clare Hartwell and "One of the most remarkable and unusual stations in the country both for the architectural form and the technological interest...it is the most dramatic and it is an important example of the deployment of timber to achieve large roof spans incorporating clerestory lighting."

- Clare Hartwell From July 1959 the Altrincham electric trains began terminating at Oxford Road in two new bay platforms, still with 1500V DC electrification. The remaining three platforms were electrified at 25 kV AC from Manchester Piccadilly, one of these being a terminus platform. The whole station was reopened on 12 September 1960.

Due to the closure of Manchester Central railway station in 1969, further rebuilding of Oxford Road station took place: one of the bay platforms was taken out of use and a new through platform built (platform 1), the others being renumbered accordingly. The track layout was also changed so that there were now four through platforms and one bay platform. In 1971 the whole station became electrified at 25 kV AC with the re-electrification of the line to Altrincham. From this point, local trains from Altrincham started running through to Piccadilly and on to, and Oxford Road became predominantly a through station, with many fewer trains terminating there.

Use of the station increased from May 1988 with the construction of the Windsor Link between Deansgate and Salford Crescent, connecting the lines to the north and south of Manchester. This led to further investment in the station, including the installation of computer screens.

For all the architectural acclaim the buildings received, the station's structure began to deteriorate within ten years. The roof started quickly to leak and for years the station's platform buildings were encased in scaffolding and other metalwork (partially to hold the structure up and also to prevent material falling on the platforms and passengers). The whole station was in a sorry state: eventually partial remedial refurbishment was completed in 2004.

In 1992 the station's original raison d'etre as the terminus for Altrincham disappeared with the conversion of the Altrincham line stopping service to light rail operation as part of Manchester Metrolink. Oxford Road, once served almost entirely by suburban stopping trains, now has many more longer-distance services as well.

Service pattern

 * Northern Rail
 * 1tph to Hazel Grove
 * 1tph to Preston
 * 1tph to Southport via Wigan Wallgate
 * 1tph to Liverpool Lime Street via Newton-le-Willows
 * 2tph to Liverpool Lime Street via Warrington Central (local stopping service)
 * 2tph to Manchester Airport


 * First TransPennine Express
 * 1tph to Liverpool Lime Street
 * 1tph to Scarborough
 * 1tph to Blackpool North
 * 1tph to Lancaster, continuing alternately to Barrow-in-Furness and either Glasgow Central or Edinburgh
 * 2tph to Manchester Airport


 * Arriva Trains Wales
 * 1tph to Llandudno or Bangor (1 train per day) via Chester (some evening services terminate at Chester)
 * 1tph to Manchester Piccadilly (3 trains per day extended through to Manchester Airport)


 * East Midlands Trains
 * 1tph to Liverpool Lime Street
 * 1tph to Norwich via Nottingham

This is reduced on a Sunday, most services operating hourly. There are various other peak services. All eastbound trains (those to Hazel Grove, Scarborough, Nottingham, Norwich and Manchester Airport) also call at Manchester Piccadilly.