Coach station
Manchester Chorlton Street coach station[1] or Manchester Central coach station[2][3] is an InterCity bus and coach station in Manchester, England. The station is operated by National Express Coaches, who provide the majority of services.
History
The station was first opened in 1950 and consisted of three platform islands with long shelters. The station was re-designed in 1963 by Leach Rhodes Walker with the addition of a multi-storey car park and was reopened in 1967.[4] Similar to the original station, it had three platform islands and had a semi-open concourse.
The station had a reputation for being a miserable station,[5] with the semi-open concourse making conditions feel cold and windy.
The station underwent a major re-build and was reopened in 2002.
Services
The station is staffed by National Express who operate the majority of services from the station. Eurolines also operates coach services to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.[6]
Prior to 2018, High Peak operated the Transpeak service to Buxton, Matlock and Derby, a service previously operated by Trentbarton with a fleet of coaches, but was operated with standard buses by High Peak. From 22 July 2018, this service was curtailed at Buxton, and no longer served Manchester or Stockport.[7][8]
National Express's rival company, Megabus used to operate services from outside the coach station on Chorlton Street but moved across the city to Shudehill Interchange in April 2009.[9]
Connecting services
A number of scheduled bus services depart from the bus stops directly outside the station including Burnley Company Company's Witchway X43, Blackburn Bus Company's Red Express X41, Hulleys of Baslow Snake X57 and Free bus around the city 1 also stop outside the station, while a number of local bus services stop around the corner on Portland Street.
Piccadilly Gardens is a three-minute walk away from the coach station, from where many bus services run to destinations across Greater Manchester, along with Metrolink tram services. Piccadilly railway station is a five-minute walk away, from where the majority of regional (Northern and East Midlands Railway) and national (Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales Rail) services depart.[10]
