Windsor Link Line, Greater Manchester

The Windsor Link is a short but key railway line in Salford, Greater Manchester that connects Salford Crescent and Deansgate stations, it was opened by British Rail in 1988, and came into full use in 1989. This link allows services from north west of Manchester (such as from Southport via Wigan and Bolton, also from Blackpool and Lancaster via Preston) to be diverted from Manchester Victoria to Manchester Piccadilly, emphasising the latter's status as Manchester's main station. Services then continue south east from Piccadilly to destinations such as Manchester Airport, Buxton, Hazel Grove, Chester and . Government approval for the link was gained in 1985, and it was constructed at a cost of £12.5 million.

The link starts just south of Salford Crescent station, diverging southwards from the route to Manchester Victoria at Windsor Bridge Junction (hence the name) and ends half a mile later at a junction with the route of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway at Ordsall Lane Junction, just to the west of the former Ordsall Lane station. Trains using the link then run along that route for a very short distance before turning off onto the route of the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway to reach Deansgate, Oxford Road and Piccadilly.

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