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Manchester Oxford Road railway station
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Manchester Oxford Road Station is a railway station in the city of Manchester, England.
The station is at the junction of Whitworth Street West and Oxford Street, on an elevated track between Deansgate and Piccadilly stations.
It serves the southern part of Manchester City Centre, including the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, and is on one of the busiest bus routes in Europe to the southern suburbs of the city. It also serves the BBC's offices in Manchester and is within walking distance of Manchester's main shopping district.
The station has a ticket office, waiting rooms, automatic ticket gates, toilets, a buffet and a newsagent.
This station lies on lines from Liverpool to Manchester and Manchester to Preston. Trains from this station go to Liverpool, Blackpool, Leeds, Sheffield and other towns across the North of England.
History
The station 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. On opening it had 2 platforms and 2 sidings and temporary wooden buildings. To allow the operation of 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 1903/4. From 1931 it was served by the MSJAR's 1500 V 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, Max Glendinning). 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. From July 1959 the Altrincham electric trains began terminating at Oxford Road in two new bay platforms. The remaining three platforms were electrified at 25 kV ac from Manchester Piccadilly with one being a terminus platform. The whole station was reopened on 12 September 1960.
Due to the closure of Manchester Central station in 1969 further rebuilding of Oxford Road station took place with one of the bay platforms being taken out of use and a new through platform being built (platform 1) and the others being renumbered accordingly. The track layout was also changed so that there were now four through platforms and one bay platform. The whole station became electrified at 25 kV ac with the re-electrification of the line to Altrincham in 1971.
Use of the station increased from May 1988 with the construction of the Windsor Link between Deansgate and Salford Crescent, linking the lines to the North and South of Manchester. This led to further investment in the station, including the installation of computer screens. For years the station's platform buildings were encased in scaffolding (to hold the structure up) and the whole station was in a sorry state: eventually refurbishment was completed in 2004.
Service Pattern
Off Peak service is 21 trains per hour (tph), in the following pattern:
This is reduced on a Sunday, most services operating hourly. There are various other peak services.
It should also be noted that of the above 9tph call Manchester Piccadily en route to their final destinations.
References
- Frank Dixon The Manchester South Junction & Altrincham Railway The Oakwood Press (1994) ISBN 0-85361-454-7
External links
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