Manchester – Transportation – Public Transport – Stations
I love travelling by train. I cannot say exactly what I find so fascinatingly attractive about trains or watching the fields and hills flying past my window, but here goes: I love travelling by train.
Because of this, Piccadilly Train Station has constituted an important part of my life since 2004. I travelled to London, Wales, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool, and many other places in the North of England, departing from, and arriving to, Piccadilly. It is delightfully easy to navigate: the usual WHSmith and Boots lie to the right of the entrance, followed by Monsoon, Threshers, and Sainsbury’s. Tie Rack welcomes you immediately as you enter the station. And on the left there are Superdrug, a bar, and a Burger King. Go to the top floor, and there will be Marks&Spencer, Caffe Ritazza, and another couple of bars. Caffe Ritazza is an ideal place to spend time waiting for a train: there is something pleasant about overlooking the station concourse where people bustle to catch their trains.
There are 12 platforms on the ground level under the roof, and two more on the open platform, accessible by lift from Fairfield St. Facilities abound, as well as rather helpful staff and reliable ticket machines. On the underground level is the entrance to metrolink, a taxi rank in Fairfield St, and no.1 and no.3 bus stops by the main entrance.
Over the years Piccadilly has served a few times as a place to organise exhibitions and to stage performances. 2009 has seen a collaboration of the train station and the Royal Northern College of Music on a successful mass event: a one-hour long modern opera, The End of the Line (A Brief Encounter). Singers and the orchestra took places between spectators, delivering an exciting performance on the subject of love, chance encounters, and meaningful relationships. In short, if you always thought that a train station is just it, Piccadilly will surely prove you wrong.
