Manchester Exchange railway station

Manchester Exchange
A postcard illustration of Manchester Exchange railway station in 1904, seen looking up Cathedral Approach
Location
Place	Salford
Area	Salford
Grid reference	SJ837988
Operations
Original company	London and North Western Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway London Midland Region of British Railways
Platforms	5
History
30 June 1884	Opened
16 April 1929	Platform 3 extended to link with Victoria platform 11
5 May 1969	Closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

Manchester Exchange Station was a railway station located in Salford, immediately to the north of Manchester city centre. It served the city between 1884 and 1969. The main approach road ran from the end of Deansgate near Manchester Cathedral, passing over the River Irwell and Chapel Street; a second approach road led up from Blackfriars Road. Despite its name, the station was located in Salford, and only the 1929 extension to Platform 3 was east of the Irwell in Manchester.

The station was built by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and opened on 30 June 1884. The station had five platforms with Nos. 1 and 2 being bays and Nos. 3, 4 and 5 being through. Platforms Nos. 4 and 5 were reached by a footbridge from near the station entrance. The opening of Exchange allowed the LNWR to vacate Manchester Victoria station to the east, which it (and its predecessors, including the Liverpool and Manchester Railway) had shared with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (and its predecessors) since 4 May 1844. From 16 April 1929, Exchange had a platform link with the adjacent Victoria, when an eastward extension of platform No. 3 over the Irwell bridge was opened, meeting Victoria's platform No. 11, thus creating Europe's longest platform at 2,238 feet (682 m); it could accommodate three trains at once.

Exchange station served Liverpool Lime Street; Huddersfield; Leeds; Hull Paragon and Newcastle Central; also Warrington Bank Quay, Chester and North Wales. Local LNWR passenger trains operated via Walkden to Bolton Great Moor Street and via Tyldesley to Wigan North Western.