The Anonymous Widower

Should Number 10 North Have Good Rail Connections To London?

The answer to this question must be Yes! But it must also have good rail connections to the rest of the UK.Heron House

The current Number 10 North is at Heron House, which is shown on this OpenRailwayMap.

Note.

1. The green lines are Manchester’s Metrolink.
2. Piccadilly Gardens with its tram stop is in the North-East corner of the map.
3. The tram lines going South-East from Piccadilly Gardens go to Manchester Piccadilly station.
4. The tram lines going North-East from Piccadilly Gardens go to Manchester Victoria station.
5. In the middle of the map, there is St. Peter’s Square tram stop, which are within a five-minute walk to the circular Manchester Central Library and the triangular Manchester Town Hall.
6. Heron House is on the opposite side of Albert Square to Manchester Town Hall.

Andy Burnham has obviously chosen a location he knows well from his nine years as the Mayor of Greater Manchester.

Long-term there are plans to move Number 10 North to the Manchester Digital Campus in Great Ancoats Street, Ancoats, Manchester,  when construction is completed around 2032.

This Google Map shows the location of Great Ancoats Street with respect to Manchester City Centre.

Note.

1. Great Ancoat’s Street appears to be part of Manchester’s Inner Ring Road.
2. Google placed the red arrow, but I suspect Number 10 North could be somewhere near the arrow.
3. Manchester Piccadilly station is not marked on the map, but is about a 0.8 mile South-West of the red arrow, at the end of the rail line going South-East from the map.
4. Number 10 North should be about a 5 to 10 minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly station.
5. Currently, there is no tram running in this direction.
6. The two stations in the South-West corner of the map are Deansgate in the West and Manchester Oxford Road in the East.
7. The fourth station in Manchester City Centre is Manchester Victoria in the North-West corner of the map, by the AO Arena and Manchester Cathedral.
8. Located  between Deansgate, Oxford Road and Victoria stations is a white triangle, which is Manchester  Town Hall, with the current location of Number 10 North at Heron House to its West.
9. There don’t appear to be any trams on Great Ancoat’s Street, but there are buses between Manchester Victoria and Great Ancoat’s Street, which take about 11-20 minutes.
10. As an alternative between Manchester Victoria and Great Ancoat’s Street, you can take a tram to New Islington and walk.

This brief look seems to indicate, that to get to Great Ancoat’s Street, you either walk from Manchester Piccadilly or take trams or buses and a short walk from Manchester Victoria.

This OpenRailwayMap shows Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria and New Islington.

Note.

1. Manchester Victoria station is indicated by a blue arrow.
2. Manchester Piccadilly station is towards the bottom of the map.
3. New Islington tram stop is North-West of Manchester Piccadilly on the green tram line to the Etihad Stadium and Ashton-Under-Lyme tram stops.
4. The Etihad Stadium can be seen three tram stops on from New Islington at the Eastern edge of the map.
5. Passengers going between Manchester Victoria and New Islington would change trams at Picadilly Gardens tram stop.

I believe that the Future Number 10 North will be within easy walking distance of the New Islington tram stop.

Current London And Manchester Services

Avanti West Cost currently run three hourly trains between Euston and Manchester Piccadilly.

• 1 train per hour (tph) stops at Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Stockport
• 1 tph stops at Nuneaton, Stoke-on-Trent, Stockport
• 1 tph stops atStafford, Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport

I don’t think this gives a wide enough coverage of stations.

Lumo’s Proposed London And Manchester Services

Lumo want to run six daily trains between between Euston and Rochdale.

These will stop at Warrington Bank Quay, Newton-le-Willows, Eccles and Manchester Victoria.

Note.

1. This could be a fast service, as it is proposed to be non-stop between Euston and Warrington Bank Quay.
2. It will probably be only five-cars, which would give no problems terminating at Euston and Rochdale stations.
3. Eccles and Rochdale are in Greater Manchester.
4. Currently, Warrington Bank Quay, Newton-le-Willows, Eccles and Manchester Victoria don’t have direct trains to London.
5. I can see this service appealing to thrifty Yorkshire folk, as Rochdale has 3 tph to Hebden Bridge and Leeds, 2 tph to Halifax and Bradford Interchange, and 1 tph to Brighouse and Dewsbury.
6. It could be a low-cost service.

I can see it being successful.

September 13, 2026 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel, World | Andy Burnham, Deansgate Station, Eccles Station, Etihad Stadium, Euston Station, Lumo, Lumo Euston And Rochdale, Manchester Metrolink, Manchester Oxford Road Station, Manchester Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Manchester Victoria Station, Mayor Of Greater Manchester, New Islington Tram Stop, Newton-le-Willows Station, Number 10 North, Open Access Operators, Politics, Prime Minister, Rochdale Station, Warrington Bank Quay Station