Yes you did read that right. Even though you would expect a more normal announcement to be the opening of a new runway, Manchester Airport has now got a new platform to lead it into the New Year on a good note.
Manchester Airport has its own railway station, and it was here that the Secretary of State for Transport, Geoff Hoon, opened the new addition to the airport. Before the grand opening the station had just two platforms, and the addition of this third one means that the station will be able to accommodate more trains and more passengers. And that is good news for Manchester Airport itself.
It was stated that over two million people every year use this station, so it is clearly an important place. Many people journey to the station and then head on to catch their flight out of the airport, and the extra capacity means that their journeys will be even better than they are at the moment.
The work has taken a year to complete, and the cost of doing so is stated as being £15 million. The actual official opening took place on 8th January, ready to accommodate plenty of new passengers for 2009. The expansion of the station was a crucial part of the expansion and improvement plans that are in place for the region.
And people living towards the south of the country will also benefit from this new platform. The Secretary of State for Transport said that we could see as many as fifty per cent more trains running from London up to Manchester as a result of this new platform being put in place.
The idea is also to try and lead people into using public transport more in order to reach the airport, as well as other destinations. But that will of course depend on the quality of the services which arrive at the platform, rather than the fact that the extra platform is now in place. We will just have to wait and see how that part of the deal develops.
In the end, many people still prefer to drive to the airport and pay to park there while they are away. So it will be interesting to see whether there is any great shift away from doing that if extra train services are put into play as a result of this expansion. People do get very set in their ways, and unless they are very close to a train station at their home, they are not always likely to shun their own car to rely on public transport to get them there.
There is no doubt that the new platform is a stunning addition to Manchester Airport Station though. The pictures of the finished structure are quite impressive, with a large flowing canopy covering the platform. It is truly a modern structure which should serve its purpose very well.
As it stands the platform has only been open for a few days. We’ll have to wait and see how it performs for the long term.