Manchester Mayfield railway station
Encyclopedia
Manchester Mayfield is a former railway station in Manchester
, England
. It is located on the south side of Fairfield Street, next to Manchester Piccadilly station
.
Opened on 8 August 1910 by the London & North Western Railway, Manchester Mayfield was built alongside Manchester London Road station (later Piccadilly) to handle the increased number of trains and passengers following the opening of the Styal Line in 1909. It was connected to London Road via a high-level footbridge
. It was mainly used by suburban services to the south of Manchester, but a number of main line services used it during busy periods.
Mayfield suffered the effects of bombing during World War II
, when it was hit by a parachute mine
. During the 1950s, the sole passenger usage consisted of the arrival of the Pines Express
from Bournemouth West at about 5pm. It came into its own for a brief period during the electrification and modernisation of what was to become Piccadilly Station in the late 1950s, when many services were diverted to it after a restoration of sorts. It was closed to passengers on 28 August 1960.
constructed a sorting office
on the opposite side of the main line and connected it to Mayfield with an overhead conveyor bridge which crosses the throat of Piccadilly Station. The depot closed in 1986 following the decision by Parcelforce
, Royal Mail's parcels division, to abandon rail transport in favour of road haulage. The building has remained disused ever since, with the tracks into Mayfield removed in 1989 as part of the remodelling of the Piccadilly Station layout. The sorting office was briefly reused as an indoor karting track, but has now been rebuilt as the Square One development, prestige offices used by Network Rail; the parcel conveyor bridge was removed in 2003.
. The interior of the station was used in Prime Suspect as a drug dealer's haunt. It was also used as a double for Sheffield railway station in The Last Train
. The roadside building was gutted by a fire in 2005.
A study was carried out by Mott Macdonald
in 2000 which looked at possibilities of increasing capacity at the Piccadilly Station. One solution put forward would see the track quadrupled between Slade Lane Junction and Piccadilly, with a pair of through platforms in the Mayfield goods yard to the south of Piccadilly's platforms 13 and 14 linked to additional running lines to Ashburys station
. This proposal was supported by the GMPTE as it would increase usable train paths through Piccadilly by between 33% and 50%; the extra track would, however, require an expensive extension to the Piccadilly-Deansgate viaduct carrying the track from Slade Lane. The location of the proposed platforms was also criticised as it would entail "a long walk for passengers wishing to interchange with other terminating rail services at Manchester Piccadilly or access the city centre."
Other options would have the station used again as a terminus, providing a rail link to Manchester Airport or, alternatively, the lines might be extended through Mayfield and connected to the existing line to Manchester Oxford Road railway station
.
In 2008 an alternative scheme involving Manchester Mayfield was put forward. This proposal would see the station as part of a new 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) city centre district to be created immediately next to Piccadilly Station. This project would create over 6000000 square feet (557,418.2 m²) of office
s contained in office blocks up to 12 storeys high, and would be completed over a period of 15 years. The scheme is led by "Mayfield Manchester", a joint venture company between Ringset, part of the Wrather Group, and Panamint; the company owns around 90% of the land around the station as of 2008, but do not own the station itself. The future of the former railway station has yet to be decided and Mayfield Manchester were, as of April 2008, said to be in talks with its owners, BRB Residuary.
station which would be relocated from its existing facility on Chorlton Street and rebuilt on the western end of the Mayfield Goods Yard with pedestrian links to Piccadilly. A new coach station would be adjacent to the Inner Ring Road and have easy access to the road network.
were said to have earmarked the site as the location of a 700000 sq ft (65,032.1 m²). "super-campus" to house 5,000 civil servants. The construction of the building would, if approved by the Treasury
, commence in 2012–2013, and require the demolition of Mayfield station.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located on the south side of Fairfield Street, next to Manchester Piccadilly station
Manchester Piccadilly station
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...
.
Use as a passenger station
Footbridge
A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...
. It was mainly used by suburban services to the south of Manchester, but a number of main line services used it during busy periods.
Mayfield suffered the effects of bombing during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when it was hit by a parachute mine
Parachute mine
A parachute mine is a parachute naval mine dropped from an aircraft. They were mostly used in World War II by the Luftwaffe and initially by the Royal Air Force Bomber Command.-Blast effects:...
. During the 1950s, the sole passenger usage consisted of the arrival of the Pines Express
Pines Express
The Pines Express was a named passenger train that ran daily between Manchester and Bournemouth in England between 1910 and 1967.It ran for the first time under the name "Pines Express" on 26 September 1927; and is believed to have been named after the pine trees growing in the Chines in the...
from Bournemouth West at about 5pm. It came into its own for a brief period during the electrification and modernisation of what was to become Piccadilly Station in the late 1950s, when many services were diverted to it after a restoration of sorts. It was closed to passengers on 28 August 1960.
Use as a goods station
The site was converted into a parcels depot which opened on 6 July 1970. Royal MailRoyal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
constructed a sorting office
Sorting office
Sorting office or Processing and Distribution Center is any location where postal operators bring mail after collection for sorting into batches for delivery to the addressee, which may be a direct delivery or sent onwards to another regional or local sorting office, or to another postal...
on the opposite side of the main line and connected it to Mayfield with an overhead conveyor bridge which crosses the throat of Piccadilly Station. The depot closed in 1986 following the decision by Parcelforce
Parcelforce
Parcelforce Worldwide is a courier and logistics service in the United Kingdom. Parcelforce Worldwide is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd.Its international partner network allows it to extend its delivery reach worldwide...
, Royal Mail's parcels division, to abandon rail transport in favour of road haulage. The building has remained disused ever since, with the tracks into Mayfield removed in 1989 as part of the remodelling of the Piccadilly Station layout. The sorting office was briefly reused as an indoor karting track, but has now been rebuilt as the Square One development, prestige offices used by Network Rail; the parcel conveyor bridge was removed in 2003.
Disuse
The site is currently owned by BRB ResiduaryBRB (Residuary) Ltd.
BRB Limited is the successor to the British Railways Board. It is a private company limited by shares, with 100% of the issued share capital owned by the Secretary of State for Transport.-Background:...
. The interior of the station was used in Prime Suspect as a drug dealer's haunt. It was also used as a double for Sheffield railway station in The Last Train
The Last Train
The Last Train is a British six-part post-apocalyptic television drama serial first broadcast on the ITV network in 1999. It has since been repeated on ITV2 in 1999/2001 and on numerous occasions on the UK Sci-Fi Channel...
. The roadside building was gutted by a fire in 2005.
Reopening as a station
Mott MacDonald
The Mott MacDonald Group is an employee-owned company management, engineering and development consultancy serving the public and private sectors world-wide...
in 2000 which looked at possibilities of increasing capacity at the Piccadilly Station. One solution put forward would see the track quadrupled between Slade Lane Junction and Piccadilly, with a pair of through platforms in the Mayfield goods yard to the south of Piccadilly's platforms 13 and 14 linked to additional running lines to Ashburys station
Ashburys railway station
This article refers to the ex Great Central Railway station in Manchester; for the similarly named former LSWR station in Devon see Ashbury railway station.Ashburys railway station in Openshaw serves Beswick and West Gorton in Manchester, England...
. This proposal was supported by the GMPTE as it would increase usable train paths through Piccadilly by between 33% and 50%; the extra track would, however, require an expensive extension to the Piccadilly-Deansgate viaduct carrying the track from Slade Lane. The location of the proposed platforms was also criticised as it would entail "a long walk for passengers wishing to interchange with other terminating rail services at Manchester Piccadilly or access the city centre."
Other options would have the station used again as a terminus, providing a rail link to Manchester Airport or, alternatively, the lines might be extended through Mayfield and connected to the existing line to Manchester Oxford Road railway station
Manchester Oxford Road railway station
Manchester Oxford Road Railway Station is a railway station in the city of Manchester, England. The station is located at the junction of Whitworth Street West and Oxford Street, on an elevated line between Deansgate and Piccadilly stations....
.
Commercial redevelopment
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
s contained in office blocks up to 12 storeys high, and would be completed over a period of 15 years. The scheme is led by "Mayfield Manchester", a joint venture company between Ringset, part of the Wrather Group, and Panamint; the company owns around 90% of the land around the station as of 2008, but do not own the station itself. The future of the former railway station has yet to be decided and Mayfield Manchester were, as of April 2008, said to be in talks with its owners, BRB Residuary.
Conversion into coach station
It has been reported that the station could eventually be converted into a new National Express coachCoach (vehicle)
A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
station which would be relocated from its existing facility on Chorlton Street and rebuilt on the western end of the Mayfield Goods Yard with pedestrian links to Piccadilly. A new coach station would be adjacent to the Inner Ring Road and have easy access to the road network.
Government offices
In a proposal floated in May 2009, the Labour governmentBrown Ministry
Gordon Brown took office as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007 and formed his Government. It ended, upon his resignation, on 11 May 2010. In his inaugural cabinet Brown appointed the UKs first female Home Secretary Jacqui Smith....
were said to have earmarked the site as the location of a 700000 sq ft (65,032.1 m²). "super-campus" to house 5,000 civil servants. The construction of the building would, if approved by the Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
, commence in 2012–2013, and require the demolition of Mayfield station.
External links
- Mayfield interior pictures can be seen here
- Photographs of the interior of the building