Hmmmm, so when demand skyrockets because of sub 2 hour journey times to London, we're still going to be stuck with SHORTER trains than we already have?
I don't think that all services out of Piccadilly will need to be 400m long but some of the peak journeys certainly will need to be, 1hr40 Piccadilly - Euston will result in a lot more passengers, and if running at 3tph (assumed) and running shorter services than is currently being run, whats going to happen there? I know it won't be a pretty picture.
At a guess they'll be lengthening platforms 8 and 9 for the HS2 services, rather than building new platforms in the car park and extending platforms 1 to 4 to compensate for the loss (and diversion of the East Manchester Line services further north east on the station). But they do need to have 400m services running when HS2 opens, if we need 253m long trains today, why will a 200m train be long enough in ten years?
Even at 4tph it only provides an extra 2 carrages per hour with 200m long units.
Either way, if they do extend platform 9, it will be even more operationally restrictive as pt. 10 - 12 branch off plaform 9, 212m from the buffers. An alternative could be extending platforms 4 and 5, but then that restricts the East Manchester Platforms, (1 - 4).
Idealy, IMO, I'd be looking at adding additional platforms to the North East on the current surface car park, adjacent to Sheffeild Street. 3 platforms there, all permissable working (oviously), the current parking spaces removed, the remained ones at the end turned into Disabled Parking only, one way road access into the multi storey, with footpath for access to the either 2 side island platform, or 3 platfoms at a squeze, would proberbly be best fitting in a single island.
UE and DE would then need to be slew over onto the farthest north bridge over Fairfeild Street.
The current platform 2/3 island extended upto this point upto 400m length, thus preserving 1, 0, -1, and the possible -2 for East Manchester services, aswell as permissable use of Platform 2 or 3 (by crossing the lines before Fairfeild St.), with a loop from both DE and UF feeding into Platform 3.
The current 4/5 island can then be extened over what used to be the UE and DE lines that have now being slew north, where all of the new 2/3 platform (that comes to a point at Fairfeild St), where the new 4/5 platform also terminates.
Thats come about by some marker pens on my screen and using google maps, so may need a little tweaking, but as the extention of platforms at piccadilly is only a stop gap solution anyway, perhaps for the amount of track work and disruption that would cause, maybe they should look at placment and building the dedicated HS2 terminus in Manchester as part of phase 1, rather than converting the current platforms to the length required. If it happens to be Mayfeild that is chosen, it wouldn't need much trackwork to plumb it into the current network (just a few crossing movments on the throught).
Also, if mayfeild is chosen, it wouldn't need to use the current route to platform 13/14 as there is an alternative to get across Fairfeild St, aswell as having it's own entrance. But IMO, the site at Mayfeild is ideal and the sensible choice, the only other sites that come to mind are exchange, or in the area of Ordstall Lane. Whereas currently, Mayfeild sits next to Piccadilly, and nothing around there wouldn't be able to be moved for a few pennies.
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PS. Before you all start jumping and saying Mayfeild isn't big enough, I'm saying the Mayfeild SITE not just Mayfeild. I'd also look at adding four more additional standard platforms to that side of piccadilly with 8 track (10 including HS2) to Ardwick, and 6 (8 including HS2) onwards.
