Salford Crescent railway station

Salford Crescent railway station is a railway station in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, opened by British Rail in 1987.

Salford Crescent
for University of Salford
Salford Crescent railway station in 2014
Location
Place	Salford
Local authority	City of Salford
Grid reference	SJ818988
Operations
Station code	SLD
Managed by	Northern Trains
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	C2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	1.038 million
– Interchange	0.352 million
2015/16	0.956 million
– Interchange	0.379 million
2016/17	1.149 million
– Interchange	0.346 million
2017/18	1.141 million
– Interchange	0.305 million
2018/19	1.288 million
– Interchange	0.630 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	Greater Manchester
History
Original company	British Rail
11 May 1987 (1987-05-11)	Station opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Salford Crescent from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

The station is 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Salford Central, 1.75 miles (2.82 km) west of Manchester Victoria and 2.25 miles (3.62 km) west of Manchester Piccadilly. It consists of a single island platform with a ticket office and waiting room.

The station is near the University of Salford, between the Peel Park and Frederick Road Campus.

Salford Crescent is the point of a split in the Manchester-Preston Line, with local services running on to Manchester Victoria and long-distance services going to Manchester Piccadilly (via the 1988 Windsor Link to Ordsall Lane Junction), and is also part of the line between Manchester and Southport, frequently being used as an interchange between the two lines. Manchester North signalling centre was formerly located at the station, prior to its closure in April 2015.,[1][2] Ticket gates have been in operation at the station since 2016.

Services

Eastbound: frequent services operate to Manchester Piccadilly, mostly continuing to either Manchester Airport, Hazel Grove or Alderley Edge and to Manchester Victoria, with many services extending to either Stalybridge, Rochdale, Blackburn via Todmorden and Burnley Manchester Road or Leeds via Brighouse.[3]

Westbound: Northern Trains services operate to Bolton, Clitheroe, Wigan Wallgate via Atherton, Wigan North Western (limited service), Kirkby (not evenings or Sundays), Southport, Preston and Blackpool North

First TransPennine Express used to run the services from Manchester Airport to Blackpool North, Windermere & Barrow but this was passed on to the new Northern franchise on 1 April 2016. Barrow and Windermere services now run via Wigan N.W and do not call here.

Engineering work on the (heavily delayed) Manchester to Preston Line electrification project has seen all weekend services here suspended (and replaced by buses) for much of 2017-18 (through trains being diverted via Eccles and the West Coast Main Line) - these blockades continued until November 2018.

Electric Service commenced on Monday 11 February 2019 utilising Class 319 Electric Multiple Units.

Connecting bus routes

Salford Crescent is served by Stagecoach Manchester's service 50, a cross-city bus service between East Didsbury and MediaCityUK.[4] Services 8, 31, 36, 37, 67 and 100 also stop outside the station and run to Manchester, terminating at either Piccadilly Gardens or Shudehill Interchange. Services also head towards Bolton, Eccles, Swinton, Pendlebury, Trafford Centre, Warrington and Farnworth.[5]

Improvements

In 2007, Network Rail recognised that Salford Crescent could not cope with existing passenger levels, leading to platform overcrowding.[6] It suggested expansion of the station with extra platforms, greater use of it as an interchange and use as a terminus for services from east of Manchester. It also raised the possibility of moving the station.

In 2012, improvement work started at the station, including platform extensions, a new rain canopy and the relocation of the ticket office to street level.[7] The works were completed in October 2013 and officially opened by Mayor of Salford, Ian Stewart.

The station in 2010, prior to the improvement works.

Electrification

The station in early 2018, undergoing electrification works

The station in early 2018, undergoing electrification works

Although it does not include the line via Atherton to Wigan, the main line connecting Manchester stations to Preston and Blackpool passing through Salford Crescent is being electrified. The physical-civil engineering work was hit by a number of delays which delayed its completion by two years.[8] The first electric test trains ran on the night of 13 December 2018,[9] and the first electric passenger services commenced in early February 2019, utilising Class 319 electric multiple units.

Facilities

The station's ticket office is manned throughout the week (06:30 to 21:45 weekdays and Saturdays, 09:10 to 16:00 on Sundays) and there is a self-service ticket machine in the booking hall. A waiting room, digital information screens and automated announcements are provided at platform level. Step-free access is via a lift from the road bridge and ticket hall (there is also a staircase to the platform).[10]

Notes

1. Friends of Walkden Station - Signal Box history FOWS website article; Retrieved 2009-04-29
2. Easter closure at Manchester Victoria for signalling transferRailway Technology Magazine 1 April 2015; Retrieved 8 September 2015
3. Table 82 National Rail timetable, December 2019
4. "Stagecoach Bus - CityConnect-50". Stagecoach Manchester. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
5. "Transport for Greater Manchester - Journey Planning - Network Maps". Transport for Greater Manchester. Archived from the original on 16 December 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
6. Network Rail North West RUS Archived 1 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Network Rail website; retrieved 2009-04-29
7. £12 million upgrade starts on overcrowded Salford Crescent stationManchester Evening News article 16 October 2012
8. Cox, Charlotte (11 January 2018). "Plans to electrify Manchester to Preston rail route delayed AGAIN". men. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
9. "First electric test train passes through Bolton as upgrade nears completion"Network Rail, Media Centre press release 14 December 2018; Retrieved 20 December 2018
10. Salford Crescent station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 20 December 2016

External links

• Train times and station information for Salford Crescent railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Bolton		Northern Trains Manchester-Preston Line		Salford Central or Deansgate
Bolton		Northern Trains Ribble Valley Line		Salford Central
Kearsley or Clifton or Bolton or Swinton		Northern Trains Manchester-Wigan Wallgate		Salford Central
Swinton or Kearsley or Clifton or Bolton Interchange		Northern Trains Manchester-Southport Line		Salford Central
Swinton		Northern Trains Manchester-Kirkby		Salford Central
Bolton		Northern Connect Blackpool North - Manchester Airport		Deansgate
	Historical railways
Pendleton Line open, station closed		Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway		Windsor Bridge, Pendleton Line open, station closed

Railway Lines in Salford
Past, present and future
to Wigan Wallgate   to Bolton Great Moor Street to Wigan North Western   Little Hulton Ellenbrook Walkden Low Level Walkden High Level to Liverpool Lime Street Moorside to Bolton Barton Moss Worsley Swinton Dixon Fold Patricroft   Monton Green Pendlebury to Bury Irlams-o'-th'-Height Eccles Eccles   Clifton Junction Ladywell   Agecroft Bridge Weaste Weaste Brindle Heath Jct Agecroft Jct Langworthy Seedley Pendleton Pendleton Bridge Broadway Cross Lane MediaCityUK Harbour City   Salford Crescent Anchorage Salford Docks Salford Quays Windsor Link Exchange Quay Ordsall Lane   Oldfield Road Metrolink to Manchester Ordsall Chord Salford Central to Manchester Deansgate to Manchester Victoria