Manchester Oxford Road Railway Station

Now, this is no fancy Piccadilly Station but it’s actually pretty good, and might be more convenient for your arrival into Manchester. It’s small, easy to get around and basic — if you have a pre-​booked seat on the train out of Manchester you might want to get on here rather than at the main station.
That being said, I don’t think there’s much by way of train snack shops, and when I arrived into here I had to walk over to the Co-​Op to get a taxi. But it’s a pretty handy station all the same.

This is a train station where you can walk in and not only get the train you want, but also meet friendly and helpful staff and that is sometimes a blessing !
Having been fortunate to have know some of the station staff here I can honestly say they are a credit to northern rail!
Few facts about Manchester Oxford rd station
— Busiest station run by Northen rail !
— Peak passenger flow times are 8:45 till 10 am and 16:35 — 18:00
— Travel to Liverpool, Blackpool and lots more from here
There is a Java coffee bar at the bottom of the station apron and a point shop and go for your train sweeties — but if you have a little longer there is a sainsburys just across the road from the entrance which is much cheaper
Due to this being a peak station and lots of passenger traffic going through here you will find electronic ticket barriers before you can access or leave the platforms
But it’s not all rules, lines and tickets please. Somebody has had an ingenious idea to Install some pianos on the main concourse if you want to tickle the Ivory!
Enjoy your journey !

Don’t often use this station but does provide easy access to shopping in Manchester as well as linking to the metro. As with all stations, fairly tidy and information services are available. Very difficult to give a thorough review as I have only used for brief times

Always get your tickets out before for the barrier! Ok as far as stations go, not much indoor area to wait under when it gets cold! V busy over the bridge in the mornings so watch out!
And always use the short cut if your heading towards the uni end of oxford road! Down the steps in the right of the station looking out.

Raised high above street leve, and wedged between the new Student Castle, The Cornerhouse and The Ritz, Oxford Road Station has always been a bit of a strange beast to me. It’s clearly an old suburban station (like, say, Levenshulme) that was swallowed by the rapid expansion of the city centre back in the industrial revolution, and hasn’t advanced much since. The last time it was renovated was before bakelite hit the mainstream.
THAT SAID, I believe it IS going through a large overhaul, if very slowly, so there might eventually be better facilities and a stronger team of staff to ease the pain of an hour delayed on a very exposed platform.

Not the greatest train station in town, it is handy for anyone living in southern Central Manchester. Definitely don’t plan on spending a long time here — it is very open plan and that Manchester wind can definitely get to you. There are only two ticket machines so don’t be running too late if you need to use them. On the plus side, it is right next to The Cornerhouse so you can wait there with a nice coffee and a piece of cake until your train arrives.

Almost everytime I come here at least one of only two ticket machines is not working and there’s often only one cashier on duty. Sort it out!

Located conveniently one stop down from Manchester Picadilly with much easier platform access if you are coming from Warrington or Chester. A pleasant station with minimal facilities.
Easy access to buses and taxis outside.
The main downside is if you are travelling out from Manchester as you might struggle to find a seat during rush hour from the commuters out of Picadilly. Watch out for the ticket barriers I seem to find them not working more than when they do.

The little sister station to Piccadilly where only certain destinations and smaller train services start and arrive here. Usually used to connect to big cities in the North or the smaller stations dotted around the North West. Being so close to the University, it’s mostly students who use this station or those who can afford not to go to Piccadilly. Rather small and cramped station with only a few conveniences available including a small café to grab a quick bite or a coffee before your journey.
MetroBus services regularly arrive here yet on foot there is an extremely steep hill up to the station or a huge number of steps before you head to station level. Can be a problem for those less mobile people.

This station I really do like. It may be just a small station but there is something about it.
Have had a few fond memories of having a coffee in the café next to the Entrance /​Exit.
And yes it’s a sad life but I could easily nip there just for that coffee.
Great place for people watching too.
Always busy .
I’m sounding like a train spotter arnt I, but Stations.

I do appreciate small train stations like Oxford Road as a means to avoid a slow and arduous cross-​city trip, even if it is a free bus you’re riding on. Group hug now please, Oxford Road, Haymarket (Edinburgh) and Moorfields (Liverpool)! Although Piccadilly is often the required station for onward travel, Oxford Road and Victoria are generally closer to the indie action. Victoria is your gateway to the Northern Quarter, whilst the Oxford Road fun starts right outside the door with the laughter continuing on buses to the southern delights of Didsbury, Chorlton, Altrincham, etc.
The front of the station looks a bit pagoda-​like, which combined with the scuffed wooden ‘dive bar’ style platform furniture, human scale, and preponderance of cute female students puts a gentleman of good taste such as myself at his ease. However, as Emma-​Louise points out, with such an abundance of good alternatives nearby, the station retail outlets other than the newstand are really not appropriate for discerning Unilocalers.
This station is not ideally designed for prams and wheelchairs — it’s good to have a plan worked out in advance for traversing the bridge between platforms! (Going into Piccadilly via the lifts on Fairfield Street — which you can drive right up to — or Salford Central with its ramps and lifts are both good options if accessibility is a big issue for you.)
Update: as of October 2011, an extensive refurb of Oxford Road has been completed — new platform shelters, information office, grippier stairs. However, while the new toilets are better than the old, they’re still too ghetto-​tastic for me, so I’m sticking to the Cornerhouse’s.

Oh man, I totes had to update this one. What was I thinking? «Oxford Road is dotted with cafes and bars, a fresh fruit and veg stall and a few music shops… and that’s about it.» Wash your keyboard out with soap ELH, how dare you refer to magical Oxford Road in such a passing manner. Oxford Road rules. Perhaps it’s only the fact that I traverse it each day which has made me love it so. (And I forgot the fricking ‘é’ in ‘café’. Shameful.)
I was reminded of this station when I mentioned its similarity to Haymarket in Edinburgh t’other day. Heck, they both have four platforms. Who’dathunkit? If I got on at Oxford Road and dismounted (ROFL) at Haymarket, it’d be like nothing had changed. Anyways, there are several things you need to know about this station. One, it leads you to some of the bestest down-​to-​earth eateries in Mancunia. Eighth Day, Café Muse, Cornerhouse (buns buns cinnamon buns)… and don’t you dare go spending your hard-​earned at that Pumpkin Café chain nonsense, you sillies. Grab your coffee from Java or I’ll slap you about.
Adjacent Java’s one of the best things about this station. And now we’ve got all kinds of new gubbins like Archie’s if you want to drink a week’s worth of chocolate bars in liquid form (ommmm). Plus it’s closer to the Gay Village than Piccadilly I think. But also this station harbours many a memory for me — they once left a bunch of loo rolls unattended, you know, those industrial sized ones for the big metal holders. Anyway, I was a poor student and living in the worst part of Salford. I stealed one and put it in my rucksack. I’m not proud, but I was happy that Oxford Road station provided me with some (albeit uncomfortable and papery) sanitation. Aaaanyway, this station also takes you to more destinations than you’d think, and if you plan to cheat on Manchester by visiting Liverpool like I’ve been wont to do, Oxford Road’s probably your best bet. And not to forget, you can get the ace free bus from here.
I’m still a fan! *Smiles*

Some charming young scamp once told me that Sydney Opera House was modelled on the design of Oxford Road station. However, a quick search of the internet shows nothing to corroborate that fact, so I remain sceptical. Saying that though, the exterior of this station is pretty something — its magnificent wooden curved roof being a beautiful example of modern railway architecture.
What a pity about the interior though. I’m pretty sure that the last time Oxford Road station saw a lick of paint was in 1993, and even then that was only to hide the abusive graffiti. The roof leaks (usually onto where you’re standing on the platform), there’s only one grotty little café which serves watery coffee and poor excuses for bacon sandwiches, and the waiting room usually smells of wee. Also, in the Winter months, it might just be the coldest place on earth, with the wind having an awful habit of whipping past you and chilling you to the bone.
Considering all the investment which has been put into Piccadilly station just down the track, it’s a shame that none of that has gone towards redeveloping Oxford Road into a truly 21^st century railway station. Still, the staff here are usually friendly and helpful, and if it all gets too much you can just go sit in the Cornerhouse down the hill until your train arrives.

This is the smallest of Manchester’s three main train stations, and probably the most convenient for the universities and all of the offices near Deansgate and Castlefield.
Unfortunately, as it’s a smaller station, you’ll often find that Piccadilly or Victoria is the place to go for the more major destinations, so if you’re travelling from afar you’ll probably end up at one of these busier stations.
I like it that this station is all old fashioned. But luckily it does this in a good way rather than being a decrepit mess like Victoria.

A handy place to catch a train Wales-​ward or up towards Bolton and Blackpool, but unfortunately the station doesn’t have the old-​fashioned grandeur of Victoria, nor the Burger King and M&S Simply Food of Piccadilly. It also doesn’t have a Virgin Trains ticket machine meaning that you’d have to pick up your tickets from Piccadilly or risk buying them on the day, which almost guarantees you that you’ll be standing up next to Scottish football hooligans and dodging the refreshments trolley for your entire journey.
This is not the most romantic of stations either, thanks to the automatic ticket barriers at the entrance. It does not allow for those lengthy goodbyes, faces squidged against the window or running alongside the train. So if you’re into that kind of thing get the train from Piccadilly instead (most of the trains stop at both), where even if there are men checking your tickets, you can usually blag entry to the platforms.
However, the station is right next to some wonderful pubs, the even more wonderful Cornerhouse and is very handy for the busiest bus route in Europe if you’re heading south to Fallowfield, Chorlton or Didsbury. If you have luggage and can’t be bothered with the steps under the railway bridge or the hilly ascent to the station then you can always take the free Metroshuttle to and from the door.

If you’re catching the train to Manchester and planning to visit Deansgate, Castlefield or Manchester Locks, they are all within walking distance of Oxford Road train station.
The smallest station in the city, its an old skool station with a lovely arched roof, four wee platforms and a ticket desk. There’s no mod cons, flashy shops or coffee chains, just a run down café and a paper stand selling broadsheets, tabloids, magazines and chocolate bars. If you need anything else, there’s a Sainsburys Local two minutes away.
If you’re looking to re-​enact the pivotal scene from Brief Encounter, this is probably the best station to do it as it’s usually quiet and peaceful compared to Piccadilly and Victoria. There’s also cute pebbled steps outside where you can sit and read whilst waiting for your train or hail a taxi home.
Whilst the station offers regular services to Liverpool, Crewe and other cities across the North West — anyone thinking of travelling during rush-​hour should note that a lot of the seats get taken at Piccadilly.

Although I do sort of like Oxford Road, having used it roughly a billion times in traveling back and forth from Chester, I can’t honestly give it more than three stars. It’s distinctly average in everything it does, leading to a distinctly average review I’m afraid.
It’s as if during designing it someone just said, «What does a train station need?», someone else answered, «Platforms and a ticket machine», and everyone else buggered off. There is a café, though with the prices I can’t help but think it would be easier to fleece us by simply employing Dick Turpin to ambush everyone as they arrive.
It does exactly what a train station should do, and that’s it. Anyway, who cares? You’re not going to spend more than twenty minutes here at best.

I’m not a fan of Oxford Road.
First of all, you now have to buy a ticket before you even enter the station which annoys me because I am ALWAYS on the last minute and I like the fact that I can buy a ticket on the train, sure it costs more but it means I catch my train! Not at Oxford Road though.
Also the facilites here are awful. I hate waiting at this station almost as much as I hate waiting at Victoria. Just a crappy Pumpkin café to sit in with rubbish tea and coffee and I won’t even begin to talk about the food *shudder*. Or the toilets. Equally as bad. Bleugh.
Yeah it’s safer than Deansgate because it’s pretty much always staffed but that’sabout it’s only advantage. And that more trains stop here obviously.

Okay so this station is pretty basic. It has four platforms, one café and one info desk but it’s still a good station. The staff are friendly, the platforms are kept clean and I feel really safe when I am there.
It’s a case of small but perfectly formed with this one. You will find no shortage of routes here and the trains are really regular to most northern locations. I am a big fan of places that keep it really simple but do what they do really effectively.
The location of this station is perfect for city commuters and is right next to a supermarket, lots of hotels, a cinema and the uni. Could for with a modern refurb but that’s the only flaw I can find. Good job little station !

Manchester Oxford Road is the third largest station in the city centre (after Piccadilly and Victoria respectively). It’s situated on the corner of Oxford Road and Whitworth Street, so is easily accessed by bus. The nearest tram stop is St Peter’s Square, which serves all lines.
The station itself has recently been fitted with automatic ticket barriers (replacing the throng of station staff checking tickets), so don’t expect to be able to board a train without paying first.
As for buying tickets, there are three manned booths (though not all are open during quieter times) and two machines which accepts cash and most card types.