Operating hours 04:15-00.40: 1472 trains in timetable, number operating varies by day of week

This timetable MUST be run in 1990 mode. ARS can be enabled, but it is strongly recommended that it is turned off for Piccadilly’s terminal platforms 5-12.

PLEASE read the guidance in the General tab of the timetable before operating the simulation. You WILL have problems if you don’t!

Background
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May 1989 marked the start of full traffic over the Windsor Link between Ordsall Lane and Salford Crescent. Every timetable connected with Manchester was rewritten from the ground up, with the aim of providing as many cross-city journeys as possible via Manchester Piccadilly. Services to/from Victoria station were greatly reduced. Three trains per hour were retained between there and Salford Crescent to enable passenger with Piccadilly services, including an irregular shuttle using the turnback sidings north of Salford Crescent.

Service frequencies were maintained or increased, leading to more trains overall and especially over the Castlefield Jn – Piccadilly corridor. Oxford Road became a pure through station, with no trains scheduled to use platform 5: 1989-90 was unique in that respect as far as I’m aware.

In reality, this timetable was a failure and led to long-term stagnation or even decline of passenger numbers on local services. The complexity of operations, extended journey times, late running and passengers’ resistance to being taken to the “wrong” Manchester station all combined to a fiasco in summer 1989 and very bad publicity for both British Rail and the local PTE. You will find that the timetable can be made to work, but it does require pinpoint timing accuracy across the board. Revisions started immediately, with major timetable changes in October 1989, May & October 1990 until a stable timetable finally emerged in May 1991. Stability was achieved by taking out many of the much-vaunted cross-Manchester trains and reducing many commuter services.

Now see how you get on with "the timetable of death", as it quickly became known!