Light Rail for better public transport
Metrolink Introduction > Bury Line > Crumpsall: updated 9 November 2019
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Light Rail Transit Association
Light Rail for better public transport |
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Metrolink Introduction > Bury Line > Crumpsall: updated 9 November 2019
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As in British Rail days, the station/stop entrance is on Station Road.
A minimum of upgrades were made for conversion of the station to a Metrolink stop in 1991/2. These included a ramped path for the Bury bound platform; a lift for the Manchester bound platform at the end of the footbridge. The lift turned out to be unreliable and out of use for long periods; it was subsequently removed.
In 2001 the former booking office building was removed. Both stairways were opened up and a new open footbridge provided in 2003. A new ramp between footbridge and Manchester bound platform opened in 2004. A new Disability Discrimination Act compliant access ramp from Station Road to the Bury bound platform and a new off road car park opened in 2005. A new power operated emergency crossover, with illuminated indicators, was installed in 2007. It was used during the 2007 track upgrades but subsequently went out of use.
Crumpsall will be the northern terminus for services on the Trafford Line (opening 2020). The inbound platform now has an additional eastern face, which will be used by services returning to Manchester. Similar to Shaw and Compton on the Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale line. A new entrance from Crumpsall Lane, to this platform, with both stepped and step free access has been built.
Crumpsall stop is in an approximately north–south cutting with residential housing to the east and west. Metrolink’s track bed is three to four metres below the surrounding area. At this level; space disused since main line railway days, is used for these works.
In 2014 Mott McDonald did a Geotechnical and Geo-envronmental desk study of the site for TfGM. This was to identify the key ground related risks to the project and see if further investigations were required.
“The findings of this desk study have identified that the site is potentially underlain by variable Glaciofluvial / Glacial deposits which may contain lenses of compressible clays and lenses of groundwater bearing granular materials; sulphate bearing strata which may pose a risk to buried concrete structures (such as a lift pit) and contaminated land as a result of the site’s historical use as a railway and coal wharf.”
This quote is from the Design and Access Statement which forms part of TfGM’s Prior Approval Application to Manchester City Council for the Crumpsall Stop Upgrade. Information in this study will have been used to decide how the project was to be done.
New Crumpsall crossing January 2018
Pictures courtesy of TfGM |
Couple with pram on new crossing |
View towards Manchester |
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The toe of the points from the new platform will be near the Overhead Line Equipment pole, which is approximately in the centre of the second picture. The facing crossover will be from about 44 to 91 metres further towards Manchester.
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A new opening has been made in the wall, on the south side of Crumpsall Lane, near the eastern edge of the stop site. Together with a drop curb and pavement crossing this forms the new entrance. It is temporarily fenced and gated as a construction site entrance. A large quantity of material has been used to create an engineered fill embankment on the eastern side of the cutting. This embankment runs from road level down to track level at the southern end of the stop.
On both inbound and outbound platforms, the long disused south ends have been cut back, from points level with the south end of the outbound platform. Ramped paths down to a track level crossing, of both in & out bound tracks, have been installed here.
On 3 January 2018 the new pedestrian crossing opened, providing track-level access to the platforms.
Subsequently the footbridge and outbound platform staircase; together with inbound platform lift shaft, stairs and ramp and platform rear wall were removed.
A new staircase to the outbound platform has been installed, near the original Station Road entrance.
On 6 August TfGM announced that the new sidings tracks and overhead lines at Crumpsall had been completed over the previous weekend.
Drone footage filmed by contractors MPT, gives a bird’s eye view of the works, which are a crucial part of the transformation of Crumpsall Metrolink stop, in preparation for the new Trafford Park line. This can be viewed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Ek8yu9e0KHw; it has subtitles, background music, no commentary and is available in various resolutions up to 1080p HD.
Pictures courtesy of TfGM
The step free access ramp; with gradients of no more than 1:20 and landings; runs from Crumpsall Lane to the foot crossings at south end of the stop.
There is also the shorter stepped path down to a foot track level crossing, from which there are a few steps up to the north end of the island platform. This foot crossing separates the platform track from a “refuge” siding to the north which runs through the eastern span under Crumpsall Lane.
A double tram at the turnback platform will mostly be on ground previously covered by the 2004 ramp.
View looking north towards Crumpsall Lane
Crumpsall Metrolink Stop: top of page
This page was written by Tony Williams. Contact manwebm@lrta.org if you have any comments, ideas or suggestions about these pages.