Manchester Airport's railway station is to get a £115m upgrade designed to let more and longer trains serve one of the North West's busiest transport hubs.

Network Rail said work will start this winter and run until the middle of 2028, with contractor Kier delivering the station remodelling.

Platforms 1, 2 and 3 will be extended so that two six-carriage trains can use each platform at the same time. The railway junction outside the station will be remodelled, the track layout on the approach upgraded and the signalling modernised.

The first major stage is set for Sunday 6 December 2026, when the station will close for one day so engineers can lift a new utility bridge across the tracks to carry electrical cables. Rail replacement buses will run between Wilmslow and Manchester Airport, and the station is due to reopen as normal on Monday 7 December.

Network Rail said there will be a number of weekend closures during 2027, ahead of around 10 weeks of upgrades at the start of 2028.

Rail Minister Lord Hendy said the government investment would "deliver more reliable services, increase capacity, and improve connections for the millions of passengers who use the station every year".

Simon Daly, Network Rail senior sponsor, said the improvements would "create more capacity for passengers, allow longer trains to serve the station and improve reliability".

The scheme is part of the wider Manchester Rail Upgrade.

Sources: Network Rail; Kier; BBC News. This article was produced with the help of AI tools and checked by an editor against the sources above.