Not a bad place to wait for a train (Manchester Piccadilly Station)

Member Name: blue_jess

Product:	Manchester Piccadilly Station
Date:	10/08/09 (157 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: modern and well equipped

Disadvantages: could do with a bit more seating

This train station is the biggest one in Manchester and had a major revamp around the same time as the Commonwealth Games in 2002 so now looks quite modern inside with its glass surroundings and well equipped interior.


Transport

The station has 14 platforms, with platforms 13 and 14 accessed by a bit of a walk, or you can use the long travellator. It's best to allow an extra few minutes if you are travelling from one of these platforms.

The station runs regular services to Manchester Airport and Manchester Oxford Road Train Station, runs various local services and runs longer distance trains to locations including the South West and London, which now only takes just over 2 hours on the fast service.

If you ever need to get a rail replacement bus these leave from the front entrance of the station and there always seem to be plenty of staff outside to point you in the right direction if you are unsure.

The metrolink (tram) service is accessible down the escalators near to platform 9 and this can take you to places including Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Salford Quays as well as Manchester City Centre and Manchester Victoria Train Station. Be aware that there are currently upgrades to the tracks taking place (2009) so the tram service is currently very disrupted in the city centre and towards Eccles although there are bus services replacing services that are not running.

Outside the front of the station there are 3 different free bus services linking the station with various areas of the city centre and the other Manchester train stations. These run every 10 or 15 minutes and are handy for those who cannot walk too far, or if it is tipping it down!

The taxi rank is accessed down the escalators near platform 9 and there is also a lift for those with buggys, wheelchairs etc. This is also where the short stay pick up area is located.

If you are walking into the city centre it is only 5 or 10 minutes walk straight down Piccadilly from the main entrance: this leads to Piccadilly Gardens and then the pedestrianised Market Street.


Information and Tickets

All platforms are clearly signposted and there are lots of reliable screens for you to find out which platform you need to go to including 2 huge departure boards in the main entrance area which list the trains according to every destination so it is easy to find your train even if you have no idea what its final destination will be.

There is an information window below the departure boards on the platform side which is usually manned by 2 people but sometimes there is a bit of queue for this at busy times and you may have to wait a few minutes.

There is a ticket office with seperate queues for 'todays travel' and 'advance travel', where you can also renew railcards etc, although both queues always seem to be very long during the main part of the day so it is best to use the Fast Ticket machines to buy your tickets if possible. Most of these are located next to the ticket office, with 2 additional machines located down the first set of escalators towards the taxi rank.

The station provides the standard announcements over the tannoy for train arrivals, platform changes etc and this is audible throughout the station.

There are no ticket barriers yet at Piccadilly although there are sometimes manual ticket checks in place, particularly for platforms 13 and 14.


Shops, Refreshments and other services

The station contains various shops including a small Sainsburys supermarket, a chemist, an Accessorize, Tie Rack, HMV, 3 WhSmiths, a Burger King, KFC, Pasty shop, Upper Crust, M&S Food, 2 pubs and 3 or 4 coffee shops and a few other food places that change hands now and then but have included a Bagel place and a Millies cookies shop.

Seating at these places is fairly limited (the odd table or two) with the exception of KFC and the large coffee shop which are both located upstairs and have large seating areas. Otherwise you will have to find a seat in the main part of the station but this is very difficult during the main part of the day, although there are a fair few seats located on each platform if you can stand the cold!

The toilets are located near to the escalators and you will have to pay a small charge to visit (currently 20p or 30p - can't remember which) but they are well maintained and modern so I prefer to use these than some of the disgusting ones you can visit for free at some other stations. There is a change machine outside if you have not got the correct money.

There are 4 or 5 cash machines in this area as well as another one down the escalators.

There is a left luggage service located on platform 9/10 that charges around 6 or 7 pound for 24 hours.

Overall this is a modern, clean and well equipped station.

Summary: excellent station