28.01.16
Ordsall Chord foundation works set to start
Excavation work is set to start next week as Network Rail moves a step closer to building the new Ordsall Chord in Manchester.
From 1 February, work will kick off between Trinity Way and the River Irwell as the foundations for the Chord are built.
Works have been planned to cause the least possible disruption, with all four lanes of Trinity Way remaining open, but Network Rail will have to impose a 20mph speed restriction on the ring road.
The Ordsall Chord project will incorporate a major redevelopment of Salford Central and, according to the chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), will “revolutionise rail travel” throughout the city.
Nick Spall, route delivery director for Network Rail, added: “This work is absolutely vital as we start to build the new viaduct.
“The creation of the Ordsall Chord will bring many benefits to the city and the north of England. Not only will it link the major stations within Manchester but will help support delivery of faster trains linking Manchester Victoria and Liverpool as well as improving journey times to Liverpool, Leeds and the north east.”
The works are a joint effort between Network Rail, TfGM, and Manchester and Salford’s city councils.
Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council and part of Rail North, said the project is also a key part of the Northern Hub, which will bring significant improvements to rail services across the entire north west to provide extra capacity for passenger and freight journeys.
Network Rail’s boss, Mark Carne, has previously told RTM that the scheme, which will connect the city’s two main stations, is “absolutely essential for passengers so they can have their journeys connected in better ways”.
At the time, the Chord scheme was gravely delayed as a result of a judicial review that called the entire project’s future into question.
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin also told RTM that the project is “a very imaginative move” for the city while Northern Rail’s boss, Alex Hynes, added it was critical to provide exciting new services.
The next appeal hearing related to the stalled legal challenge by former Institution of Civil Engineers president Mark Whitby against the Chord is scheduled to be heard by 4 March.