A brand new train service between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport (MAN) is set to begin operating from May 2026 as part of a national timetable turnover. This service is scheduled to run throughout the night, roughly every hour.
Regular Routes for Irregular Hours
TransPennine Express (TPE), a British train operator that conducts routes primarily throughout Northern England and Scotland, is set to introduce eight new train services to their timetable between Manchester Piccadilly and MAN. These new train services are set to operate on an hourly basis overnight.
Manchester Airport (MAN) is the third busiest airport in the UK, having seen over two million passengers travelling in March 2026 alone, according to the airport’s traffic statistics. Previously, the final rail services of the day typically departed and arrived at the airport’s train station at around midnight. This new service increases transport options for passengers travelling to the airport at unsociable hours, which will help to keep pace with the airport’s growing demand.
Changes Across the Board
The timetable changes aim to improve connectivity for passengers who are journeying at irregular times of day to catch flights early in the morning or late at night, according to a spokesperson for TPE. Meanwhile, the service also offers people a less expensive, environmentally conscious alternative to driving to the airport to catch their out-of-hours flights.
Overall, these timetable changes come as a small step in a nation-wide timetable turnover, which aims to upgrade and build upon rail services from passenger feedback. A few key focuses of the switch will be improving train punctuality and increasing services on popular routes, which the introduction of the Manchester Piccadilly to MAN route seems to align with. The timetable switch will occur on May 17, 2026.
Will you be using this new direct service to Manchester Airport? Let us know in the comments!
