Salford Central railway station to close for five months in new year for £7.3m refurb
23.09.2022 - 17:55
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Salford Central railway station will close completely for almost five months in the new year for a programme of 'long-awaited' engineering improvements costing £7.3m, it's been confirmed.
The busy commuter station on the edge of Manchester city centre will close on January 2, 2023, and isn't scheduled to open again until late May, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) confirmed today.
A councillor said the closure was 'going to cause a lot of anguish' for rail passengers in Manchester, Salford and further afield, but TfGM bosses stressed bus replacement services would run throughout the duration of the period.
The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has called Salford Central 'dangerous' due to the 'massive gap' between platforms. In April this year, on a tour of railway stations, he hit out at Salford Central, which is just over the River Irwell border in the city centre, describing it as 'third best' and criticising its state of disrepair.
The station, he went on, was 'not a station that people can use' if they have any mobility or disability issues. There are no ramps for boarding or alighting trains, making the station impossible for wheelchair users.
In what bosses called a 'significant piece of work', the project will see the heights of platforms one and two at the station raised up. The work will also see canopies and coping stones replaced, new tactile platform paving installed and new passenger information equipment. go up.
Trains will continue to run through the station during the closure period - maintaining a link to Manchester Victoria - but will not stop at Salford Central. Network Rail is said to be leading the works and transport bosses are due to meet with rail operators including Northern to