Manchester International Depot
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The depot building, seen from a passing train
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Longsight, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 53°27′44″N 2°12′10″W / 53.4622°N 2.2028°WCoordinates: 53°27′44″N 2°12′10″W / 53.4622°N 2.2028°W |
| OS grid | SJ865962 |
| Characteristics | |
| Owner(s) | London and Continental Railways |
| Depot code(s) | LC |
| Type | EMU |
Manchester International Depot is a train maintenance depot in Manchester, England. It was constructed next to the Longsight depot in the early 1990s as part of a plan to operate Eurostar international train services to locations in the United Kingdom beyond London, known as Regional Eurostar.
By the time that Eurostar services became operational through the Channel Tunnel in 1994, it was decided that regional Eurostar services from Manchester (via the West Coast Main Line) and Glasgow (via the East Coast Main Line) to Paris and Brussels were not economic to run, due to their long journey times compared to air travel: 500 mi (800 km) Manchester-Paris and 760 mi (1,230 km) Glasgow-Paris. However, the depots and trains had all but been completed, by this time, and trial runs operated on both main lines.
The Manchester International Depot, with signs saying "Le Eurostar habite ici" and other Eurostar branding, stood empty and unused for almost ten years. Unlike the majority of the British railway network, it does not belong to Network Rail but to London & Continental Stations and Property (LCSP), a subsidiary of London and Continental Railways.
The future of regional Eurostar operations is still unclear. However, in 2005 Siemens began using the depot, rented from LCSP, as a testing base for their new Class 185 DMUs for TransPennine Express, until their own Siemens Ardwick traincare facility dedicated depot at had been completed. In 2011, it was reported that London & Continental Railways still own the Manchester site.
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