Manchester Piccadilly JOSS Lock Point Conversions
Delivering Modern Signalling Upgrades in the Heart of Manchester
As part of the transformative blockade works supporting the enhancement programme at Manchester Piccadilly, Mosaic Rail Ltd is proud to have successfully delivered the detailed design and commissioning of replacement point operating equipment at Longsight Maintenance Depot on behalf of our valued client VolkerRail.
Located on the critical approach between Slade Lane Junction and Manchester Piccadilly, Longsight sits within one of the North West’s most operationally sensitive rail corridors. The works formed a key enabling element of the wider Piccadilly capacity and performance improvements, ensuring that legacy assets were modernised in line with current reliability and maintainability standards.
Scope of Works
Mosaic Rail undertook the full detailed signalling design to replace eight ends of life-expired point operating equipment with modern Clamp Lock point machines, providing:
- Enhanced mechanical robustness and operational reliability
- Improved maintainability and reduced lifecycle cost
- Integrated predictive maintenance data logging capability
- Compliance with current Network Rail standards
The integration of predictive condition monitoring aligns with the industry’s drive toward smarter asset management and data-led maintenance regimes, ensuring improved performance resilience in a high-traffic environment.
Supporting a High-Profile Blockade
The Manchester Piccadilly works represent one of the most significant recent rail enhancement programmes in the North West, delivered within constrained possession windows and under intense operational scrutiny. Mosaic Rail’s design outputs supported:
- Safe and efficient installation during blockade conditions
- Seamless integration into existing interlocking and control systems
- Timely commissioning to meet critical programme milestones
- Risk reduction in a heavily trafficked corridor
Our proactive engagement with Client installation and testing teams ensured that design intent translated efficiently into delivery on site, a key factor in achieving successful commissioning within the planned blockade window.
Enhancing Network Resilience
By replacing obsolete point machines with modern Clamp Lock technology, Mosaic Rail has helped future-proof a vital section of infrastructure feeding into Manchester Piccadilly. The scheme strengthens operational reliability at a strategic gateway station serving the North West and beyond, directly contributing to improved network performance.
