A £7.9m upgrade to tracks at Manchester Piccadilly has been completed.

The first trains travelled into the city shortly after 5am on 23 February following nine days of intense work to future-proof the southern approach to the North-west’s busiest station.

Network Rail and its partner Central Rail Systems Alliance overhauled large sections of track and surrounding infrastructure across six lines between 14-22 February.

During the nine-day closure, engineers replaced:

• Eleven sets of points
• 9km of signalling and telecoms cabling
• 4,000 timber sleepers with modern concrete equivalents
• 5,500 tonnes of new railway foundation stone (ballast)
• Signalling and other lineside equipment

The newly installed infrastructure updates track which was last replaced in the late 1980s.

While platforms 1-12 were closed to all passenger trains, improvements also took place inside the station itself to repaint and repoint platform edges, improve emergency lighting and thoroughly litter pick the tracks between platforms to make the most of such a rare closure of the main train shed.

That closure also resulted in one of the largest rail replacement bus operations the city has seen in recent memory, with one bus departing Manchester and Stockport every two and a half minutes in each direction on average.

In total over the nine days, 8,922 rail replacement bus services ran to keep thousands of passengers on the move during the major railway improvements.

Brian Paynter, Network Rail capital delivery track director, said: “We would like to say a big thank you to passengers for their patience while this once-in-a-generation upgrade has taken place over the last nine days.

“Manchester Piccadilly is one of the country’s busiest stations and it’s a key hub for people travelling to the North West. Upgrading the track over six lines in what’s known as the Piccadilly corridor will make journeys more reliable and the points and signalling systems less prone to faults - meaning fewer delays for passengers. It’s all part of our long-term commitment to invest millions of pounds to make the North West’s railway fit for the future.”

Simon Elliott, network director for rail at TfGM, added: “This was a once in a generation piece of work that will future-proof journeys for people travelling to and from Manchester Piccadilly train station for years to come.

“By working together with partners across the rail industry we were able to keep people moving and we would like to thank everyone for their patience while these works took place and all of our colleagues who helped people to make their journeys on Bee Network trams and buses.”

This coming Sunday 1 March, and again on Sunday 22 March, routine follow up work will take place to secure the new railway foundation stone through a process called tamping. This will impact trains until lunchtime with passengers advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk if planning travel on those dates.