'Ardwick Blockade' - February 2026 (timetable alteration updates)

[tumbledown]

Looks like East Midlands Trains are reversing at Chesterfield with an express bus to Man Picc for the hourly Liverpool, then onward by other companies' trains.
I wonder how the people who normally train from Rose Hill Marple etc to Piccadilly will feel about being dropped by bus at Victoria instead.

 

[BurtonM]

Why would they need to do that?

Capacity issues if Northern were using Guide Bridge for terminators, but diverting them to MCV is a good point (wasn't sure if there was capacity).

 

[The Planner]

Capacity issues if Northern were using Guide Bridge for terminators, but diverting them to MCV is a good point (wasn't sure if there was capacity).

2tph at Guide Bridge isn't going to be a problem.

 

[Starmill]

The possession looks to be giving some interesting workings, Northern Guide Bridge to Hadfield services and Guide Bridge to Sheffield services too. That'll make for a different week in work, taxis galore for train crew!

Indeed, 195s / pairs of 150 to Glossop looks pretty interesting.

 

[43055]

Looks like East Midlands Trains are reversing at Chesterfield with an express bus to Man Picc for the hourly Liverpool, then onward by other companies' trains.
I wonder how the people who normally train from Rose Hill Marple etc to Piccadilly will feel about being dropped by bus at Victoria instead.

EMR are running as far as Sheffield.

 

[tumbledown]

EMR are running as far as Sheffield.

My mistake - the buses are running from Chesterfield though. Maybe better interchange.

 

[bluenoxid]

My mistake - the buses are running from Chesterfield though. Maybe better interchange.

Just had a quick Google. Probably 10 minutes slower from Chesterfield than Sheffield to Man Picc but from Chesterfield, you can approach on the A6 serving Stockport as well. You also save a good 10 minutes travelling Sheffield to Chesterfield on the train

Be interesting comparing via Stockport and via Guide Bridge timings

 

[thealexweb]

Does anyone know if the Knutsford services turn back at Stockport like they normally do at certain times of the day?

 

[jfollows]

Does anyone know if the Knutsford services turn back at Stockport like they normally do at certain times of the day?

RTT (https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...26-02-16/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt) has all but one terminating at Altrincham. Presumably with Metrolink ticket acceptance this would make sense.

 

[NCT]

Will freight to Trafford Park simply be cancelled?

Freight is the most protected.

My understanding is they will be diverted between Crewe and Trafford Park via Warrington Bank Quay and the Chat Moss, reversing at Oxford Road. Between Crewe and Trafford Park they are top-and-tailed.

 

[startingaparty]

Is this true? If yes, it’s going to be horrendously disruptive. Does anyone know if all trains will be diverted to Oxford Road then as the article suggests. How on earth will it manage with the extra footfall?

Also, apologies if this topic is being discussed elsewhere I couldn’t find anything from the past few days since this article was published yesterday!

Manchester Piccadilly to shut for nine days for 'major overhaul'

No trains will stop at Manchester Piccadilly during the period as it gets a "major overhaul".

www.bbc.co.uk

The busiest railway station in the north-west of England is set to close for nine days for a "major overhaul" which aims to "significantly reduce disruption" on trains.

Manchester Piccadilly will shut on 14 February next year for upgrades to tracks, points and signalling systems, with work due for completion on 22 February.
During the works, services normally running to and from the station will terminate at other stations, including Stockport.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) said investment in rail infrastructure was crucial to deliver a "reliable and resilient railway" for passengers.
TfGM's Simon Elliott, said: "While unfortunately there will be some short-term disruption, we're committed to working with rail industry colleagues to ensure people can still move easily across Greater Manchester while these essential upgrades take place."
No trains from the south and east of the city will run into Manchester Piccadilly.

Services normally running to and from Manchester Piccadilly will terminate at other stations, including Stockport
Some trains from across the north of the city will also be affected, as well as direct connections to Manchester Airport.
Network Rail, who are investing £7.9m in the upgrade, said it was a "critical stretch of the track", adding: "Any issues with the ageing infrastructure can disrupt all trains running in and out of Manchester."
Julien Dehornoy from Network Rail said the "long-awaited" work would "significantly reduce" disruption.
"Once the job is done, we will have a better, more reliable railway," he said.
"The major overhaul over six railway lines can only take place during a full railway closure and we are working closely with train operators, TfGM and Manchester City Council on alternative travel plans to keep people on the move, the full details on which will be published in mid-November."

 

[jfollows]

The reason is that the points and crossings between the lines north of Ardwick station are being renewed or replaced, and this is not a simple operation.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

RTT shows there will be Northern trains from P13 at Piccadilly to Blackpool (2tph) and Liverpool via Newton le Willows (1tph).

Realtime Trains | Departures from Manchester Piccadilly all day on 16/02/2026

Train information at Manchester Piccadilly all day on 16/02/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Other trains will start/end at Oxford Road, Victoria, Stockport or Preston.

Realtime Trains | Departures from Manchester Oxford Road all day on 16/02/2026

Train information at Manchester Oxford Road all day on 16/02/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Manchester Airport will have its hourly service to/from Wilmslow and Crewe.
There will be plenty of buses plugging the gaps.

 

[td97]

Is this true? If yes, it’s going to be horrendously disruptive. Does anyone know if all trains will be diverted to Oxford Road then as the article suggests. How on earth will it manage with the extra footfall?

The busiest railway station in the north-west of England is set to close for nine days for a "major overhaul" which aims to "significantly reduce disruption" on trains.

It is quite misleading that the article states Manchester Piccadilly station is to shut, when in fact there will be 2tph Blackpool North (usual service) and 1tph Liverpool Lime Street via Newton-le-Willows (usual service).

 

[CW2]

The ATW South Wales - Manchester services appear to be terminating at Crewe (rather than Wilmslow or Stockport). From the information currently available on RTT they seem to have long layovers in Crewe to preserve the unit/loco diagram balances. The Crewe platforming is "work in progress" i.e. further work needed.

 

[The Planner]

Freight is the most protected.

My understanding is they will be diverted between Crewe and Trafford Park via Warrington Bank Quay and the Chat Moss, reversing at Oxford Road. Between Crewe and Trafford Park they are top-and-tailed.

Only for the first few days. Single Line Working from Longsight for the rest.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Nov 2025 ==

It is quite misleading that the article states Manchester Piccadilly station is to shut, when in fact there will be 2tph Blackpool North (usual service) and 1tph Liverpool Lime Street via Newton-le-Willows (usual service).

For all intents and purposes it is. Nothing is going south or east.

 

[voyagerdude220]

Avanti are planning to run 1tp2h via Chat Moss to Manchester Piccadilly (13/14)

I thought Avanti were trying to avoid having Pendolinos calling at Manchester Piccadilly platforms 13 and 14 after they had "issues" with overcrowding on 13/14 making despatching the trains difficult when their Scotland to London trains were being diverted via Manchester Piccadilly and booked to call a year or two ago.

 

[Class 170101]

The ATW South Wales - Manchester services appear to be terminating at Crewe (rather than Wilmslow or Stockport). From the information currently available on RTT they seem to have long layovers in Crewe to preserve the unit/loco diagram balances. The Crewe platforming is "work in progress" i.e. further work needed.

Surprised they didn't carry on to Manchester Airport and terminate there instead from the south instead of Crewe. The WAG seem very keen to get to Manchester Airport.

 

[dodecahedron67]

Are MkIVs cleared to the Airport? Obviously cleared via Styal but unsure if cleared into the station itself. 197s obviously are but if MkIVs aren't then that may explain it?

 

[The Planner]

I thought Avanti were trying to avoid having Pendolinos calling at Manchester Piccadilly platforms 13 and 14 after they had "issues" with overcrowding on 13/14 making despatching the trains difficult when their Scotland to London trains were being diverted via Manchester Piccadilly and booked to call a year or two ago.

Calling and terminating are very different things. Its not happening anyway.

 

[sd0733]

Are MkIVs cleared to the Airport? Obviously cleared via Styal but unsure if cleared into the station itself. 197s obviously are but if MkIVs aren't then that may explain it?

No. But No crews sign the 3rd side of the Heald Green triangle anyway so they couldn't go into the Airport

 

[Howardh]

Had a look at Avanti's website and nothing yet confirmed for the closure r/e timetable, where trains stop or terminate etc - I'm trying to book a few days away around that and can't plan anything travel-wise until I know the details. Certainly my planned return would be during that "closure" although via Wigan is a good option.

 

[The Planner]

Had a look at Avanti's website and nothing yet confirmed for the closure r/e timetable, where trains stop or terminate etc - I'm trying to book a few days away around that and can't plan anything travel-wise until I know the details. Certainly my planned return would be during that "closure" although via Wigan is a good option.

Upload isn't until the 21st. Everything terminates at Stockport.

 

[GingerSte]

Is there anything in particular (big concerts, football matches, carnivals) on in Manchester over those five days? I was just wondering.

I would hope that NR have picked one of the quietest times of year to do this work.

 

[AndrewE]

No. But No crews sign the 3rd side of the Heald Green triangle anyway so they couldn't go into the Airport

Really? Couldn't Northern or some other TOC manage to release some crew from not driving trains to conduct crew unfamilar with that bit of the triangle?
Or are you really saying that we have a triangle on BR in regular use, but "No crews sign the 3rd side of the Heald Green triangle?" That's just not believable.

 

[IrishDave]

Really? Couldn't Northern or some other TOC manage to release some crew from not driving trains to conduct crew unfamilar with that bit of the triangle?
Or are you really saying that we have a triangle on BR in regular use, but "No crews sign the 3rd side of the Heald Green triangle?" That's just not believable.

Actually, no TfW crews sign more than *one* side of the Heald Green triangle. Based on these two threads for driver route knowledge and guard route knowledge:

• TfW crews based at Crewe sign Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly via Styal (i.e. Heald Green North to South).
• TfW crews based at Chester, Llandudno and Holyhead sign Chester to Manchester Airport via Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Piccadilly (i.e. Heald Green North to West).
• No TfW crews sign Heald Green West to South.

So in fact, no TfW crews sign both Wilmslow and Manchester Airport, as there wouldn't be any need for them to do so other than for this particular engineering block.

Northern crews based at Manchester Piccadilly sign all three sides of the triangle, but as far as I can tell they're the only ones who do.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Is there anything in particular (big concerts, football matches, carnivals) on in Manchester over those five days? I was just wondering.

Depending upon when exactly the closure dates are (= Saturday 14th February 2026 to Sunday 22nd February 2026, so nine days?) believe that Manchester City are due to host Newcastle Utd in the Premier League some time over the second weekend.

 

[AndrewE]

Actually, no TfW crews sign more than *one* side of the Heald Green triangle. Based on these two threads for driver route knowledge and guard route knowledge:

• TfW crews based at Crewe sign Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly via Styal (i.e. Heald Green North to South).
• TfW crews based at Chester, Llandudno and Holyhead sign Chester to Manchester Airport via Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Piccadilly (i.e. Heald Green North to West).
• No TfW crews sign Heald Green West to South.

So in fact, no TfW crews sign both Wilmslow and Manchester Airport, as there wouldn't be any need for them to do so other than for this particular engineering block.

Northern crews based at Manchester Piccadilly sign all three sides of the triangle, but as far as I can tell they're the only ones who do.

but this isn't a TfW thread, so it's ridiculous to assert that no crew sign all 3 sides of the triangle.
When services are to be so dramatically reduced how can it not be possible to find a spare member of staff or 4 to conduct TfW trains to Picc via the airport? That's assuming they can be accommodated there. Maybe just conduct them from Wilmslow to the airport and back ?

 

[The Planner]

Is there anything in particular (big concerts, football matches, carnivals) on in Manchester over those five days? I was just wondering.

I would hope that NR have picked one of the quietest times of year to do this work.

All operators agreed it, if anything they would have suggested the dates. Its half term.

 

[sd0733]

Really? Couldn't Northern or some other TOC manage to release some crew from not driving trains to conduct crew unfamilar with that bit of the triangle?
Or are you really saying that we have a triangle on BR in regular use, but "No crews sign the 3rd side of the Heald Green triangle?"

but this isn't a TfW thread, so it's ridiculous to assert that no crew sign all 3 sides of the triangle.
When services are to be so dramatically reduced how can it not be possible to find a spare member of staff or 4 to conduct TfW trains to Picc via the airport? That's assuming they can be accommodated there. Maybe just conduct them from Wilmslow to the airport and back ?

It was in response to a question about TfW stock at the airport so it refers to TfW crews. Maybe was a rushed reply but still hardly ridiculous.
No trains can be conducted to Piccadilly via the Airport as that section is still shut.

As it stands all TfWs will be turning round at Crewe, not even reaching Wilmslow so any diversion to Manchester Airport isnt going to happen anyway.