Rail passengers have been reminded of major disruption at Manchester Piccadilly.

A £7.9 million upgrade of six lines serving the North West's busiest railway station gets underway on Saturday, February 14.

Platforms 1 to 12 will be shut for nine days to allow the work to take place, with a limited service westbound from platforms 13 and 14.

As a result, no trains from the south and east of the city will run into Manchester Piccadilly over February half term - Saturday, February 14 to Sunday, February 22.

All Avanti West Coast Main Line services will terminate at Stockport, as will all Cross Country services coming from the south and south west.

A limited service will call at Manchester Airport from Crewe, while services from South Wales to Manchester will terminate at Crewe.

Rebecca Rathore, Network Rail's North West route strategy director, said: "This work is vital in order to keep passengers and freight on the move reliably for decades to come across both Greater Manchester and wider North West.

"We know that the part closure of Manchester Piccadilly so we can carry out this work will cause some disruption and we're thankful for everyone's patience so we can complete these journey improving upgrades.

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"I'd advise anyone planning to travel between February 14 and 22 to check National Rail Enquiries for the smoothest journey possible."

All Avanti West Coast Main Line services will terminate at Stockport (Credit: Network Rail)

The investment of nearly eight million pounds will see 11 sets of points replaced and 9,000m of new cabling laid.

Meanwhile, timber sleepers will be upgraded with modern concrete equivalents as 5,500 tonnes of new railway foundation stone are replaced.

During the work, valid rail tickets will be accepted on a number of Bee Network bus and tram services in affected areas, details of which can be found on the Network Rail website.

Simon Elliott, network director rail at TfGM, said: "This investment in Manchester Piccadilly's rail infrastructure is a crucial step forward in delivering a reliable and resilient railway for passengers, freight and supporting the city-region's continued economic growth.

"The Bee Network is here to support passengers to move easily across Greater Manchester while these essential works take place. Ticket acceptance is in place on a number of bus and tram services and 10 extra buses a day will be running on the 192 in addition to the rail replacement buses.

"I would urge everyone to please plan their journey, check before they travel and leave extra time as we are expecting services to be extra busy during the works."

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