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Manchester Piccadilly HS2 upgrade plan revealed

Bennetts Associates Birds eye view of stationBennetts Associates
The plans include a boulevard, an "urban realm" and a "prime commercial address"

Plans for an upgrade to Manchester Piccadilly to fit in HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) include a "grand entrance" and underground platforms.

The proposals, which have yet to be costed, place NPR platforms and a tram stop under the high-speed lines, alongside the existing railway station.

They also include the creation of a shared concourse flanked by retail areas and a tree-lined boulevard.

HS2 is due to arrive by 2033, while a date for NPR is yet to be confirmed.

Bennetts Associates Station cross sectionBennetts Associates
A new Metrolink station and underground NPR platforms would sit under the high-speed rail lines

The plans, commissioned by Manchester City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester, place a "grand main entrance and civic space" likened to the entrance of London's Kings Cross on London Road.

The new HS2 platforms would be at ground level and covered by a folded roof, while the NPR lines would be in underground tunnels, below a new Metrolink stop built in an existing station undercroft.

The new boulevard, an "urban realm" and a "prime commercial address" would sit beside the station in an area which would also include 5,000 new homes and 250 new hotel rooms.

Bennetts Associates HS2 platformsBennetts Associates
The HS2 platforms would be covered by a folded roof

The proposals are intended to take shape over a 30-year period, during which passenger numbers are predicted to more than double to 60 million a year.

Plans for an NPR station at Manchester Airport have also been launched.

The cost of the projects has yet to be announced.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the strategy could make the areas around Manchester Piccadilly and the airport "major centres for economic growth".