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Manchester Victoria railway station in Manchester, England is the city's second largest mainline railway station and one of eight Metrolink tram stations within the city zone. It lies to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral. Victoria is Manchester's tertiary station (after Piccadilly and Oxford Road) in the Manchester station group and the busiest station managed by Northern Rail. Its management will be transferred to Network Rail in February 2016 once the current Northern Rail franchise expires. The station predominantly hosts local and regional services to destinations in northern England, such as , Bradford, , , , Wigan, , Blackpool, and Liverpool using the original Liverpool to Manchester line. Most trains calling at Victoria are operated by Northern Rail, except for First TransPennine Express services from Liverpool to Newcastle and during engineering works, when some trains are diverted from Piccadilly. Several former railway lines into the station have been converted to light-rail operation as part of the Metrolink system: The line to Bury was converted in the early 1990s as part of the first phase of the Metrolink system, and the line through Oldham to Rochdale was converted during 2009-2012. Trams switch to on-street running once they emerge from Victoria Station and continue southwards through the city centre to Piccadilly or Ashton-under-Lyne. In 2009, Victoria was voted the worst category B interchange station in the United Kingdom. The station underwent a two-year £44 million modernisation programme from 2013 which was completed in August 2015.〔http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/manchester-victoria-upgrades-to-be-finished-this-month〕 Renovation entailed electrification of lines through the station, a new Metrolink station with an additional platform, restoration of listed features, upgraded retail units, and a new roof. As part of the Northern Hub plan, Victoria will become the rail hub for trans-Pennine services when the Ordsall Chord is completed in 2018, and passenger numbers are expected to rise to 12 million when the station serves more destinations.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url= http://www.networkrail.co.uk/Manchester_Victoria_station_redevelopment.aspx )〕 == History == In 1838 Samuel Brooks, vice-chairman of the Manchester and Leeds Railway (M&LR) bought land at Hunt's Bank close to the cathedral and presented it to the company for a station to replace the inconveniently located Manchester Oldham Road railway station opened by the company on 3 July 1839. The station was a long, low single-storey building designed by George Stephenson and completed by John Brogden on 1 January 1844. It was named Victoria by permission of Queen Victoria. The long single platform handled M&LR trains to Leeds and elsewhere at its eastern end. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway extended its line from Ordsall, near the original Manchester Liverpool Road railway station, and its trains operated from Victoria's western end from 4 May 1844. By the mid-1840s six railway companies operated from the station connecting Manchester to London, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield. Victoria Station came to dominate the Long Millgate area and was one of the biggest passenger stations in Britain. Victoria was enlarged by William Dawes, who is responsible for most of its facade, in 1909. The enlarged station was erected on land consecrated as a burial ground on 1 January 1815 by the Bishop of Chester; it was acquired by the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1844. The enlarged station had 17 platforms. Wealthy commuters travelled from Blackpool and Southport faster than is possible today (e.g. 45 minutes from Southport in 1910, 67 today; and 65 minutes from Blackpool in 1910, 77 today) in specially-constructed club cars hauled by express steam locomotives. The non-stop services were abandoned in the early 1960s. The Edwardian station has a façade with an iron and glass canopy bearing the names of the original destinations served, and a tile mural depicting the routes of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway that operated most trains from the station between 1847 and 1923, when it became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Canopies covering the waiting area for taxi cabs damaged in the Provisional IRA 1996 bombing have been restored. The cast-iron train sheds behind the façade are long. The station was approached by a wooden footbridge over the River Irk until the river was culverted. In 1884 Manchester Exchange Station, operated by the rival London and North Western Railway, was built alongside Victoria and after 1929, a single passenger platform which linked the stations was the longest passenger platform in Europe at . Exchange Station closed in 1969 and its services were transferred to Victoria. Its site opposite the cathedral is now a car park. Platforms 1–3 at Victoria were also closed. In the early 1970s, the Picc-Vic tunnel project proposed building an underground station, Victoria Low Level.〔 publicity brochure〕 The tunnel project was cancelled and rail improvements concentrated on the introduction of light rail. The station received Grade II listed building status in 1988 for its period features and neo-Baroque Edwardian facade, ticketing hall, Victorian dome, tiled map of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and a memorial for servicemen who did not return after World War I. Manchester Arena was joined to the station between 1992 and 1996 by means of a raft above the station's through platforms. It is accessed via stairs on Hunts Bank and from the station concourse. During its construction the station was reduced in size from 14 platforms to 6. Most through tracks were removed, along with platforms 12—17 and their overall roof and platform buildings. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Manchester Victoria station」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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