Ordsall chord will sever museum line

摘要

The Ordsall chord, which will link Manchester's Piccadilly and Victoria stations, will sever the main line connection of the city's Museum of Sciences Industry. Although the chord is to be built on a viaduct spanning the River Irwell, the section crossing the throat of the museum's yard will not be high enough for trains to pass beneath it, a computer graphic released by Network Rail has revealed. This will not only isolate the museum from the national system but effectively bring an end to its steam train rides, which shuttle up and down the yard. The obvious physical solution would be to install a flat crossing for stock transfers and other occasional uses, but that is unlikely to find favour with NR, which wants the chord to play a vital role in the busy Northern Hub network it is creating around the city.