Manchester

Manchester has a fascinating and busy network of railways. Not only is YHA Manchester easy to reach by train, the YHA building itself sits at a crucial location in Manchester’s railway network.

Prior to 2017, it was not possible for trains to run continuously between Manchester’s principal station Manchester Piccadilly, and Manchester Victoria, which offers connections towards Huddersfield and Leeds. The addition of a short connecting line, the Ordsall Chord, enables trains to complete a journey around the major Manchester stations of Piccadilly, Oxford Road, Salford Central, and Victoria.

YHA Manchester sits very close to the new Ordsall Chord. Trains going to and from the chord can be seen from dorm rooms on one side of the building. Additionally, a Manchester Metrolink tram route parallels this section of track, at a higher level and for a only a short distance.

The nearest stations to the YHA are Deansgate on the National Rail network, and Deansgate-Castlefield on the Metrolink network, which has a direct connection, via the purple line, to Manchester Piccadilly. However, few main line trains stop at Deansgate, and the next nearest National Rail station, Manchester Oxford Road, is only a slightly longer walk and is served by many more services.

All services between Manchester Piccadilly and Oxford Road use the two new through platforms at Piccadilly. These platforms are quite a walk from the older terminus platforms. When approaching from the South, it is generally easier to change at Stockport onto a train for Manchester Oxford Road, than to change at Piccadilly.

Walking around the YHA, the parallel rail lines can be seen overhead.

The Castlefield Bowl, a small, outdoor events venue, is empty at present. It has stadium style seating.

Very close to the YHA is the Museum of Science and Industry, MoSI, which contains maun railway related exhibits. Here is the original 1829 Stephenson’s Rocket, on display at MoSI.