A THIRD platform at Manchester Airport station, which is used by more than two million passengers a year, has been opened formally for Northern and First TransPennine Express services by transport secretary Geoff Hoon.

Completed nearly two weeks ahead of schedule, the £15 million platform is crucial to the new West Coast timetable, relieving congestion on the approaches to Manchester Piccadilly.

It was funded by Network Rail, Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive and Northern Way, and built on land leased from Manchester Airport plc by contractors Carillion and Tony Gee and Partners for Network Rail.

During the year-long building project, a new bridge section that had to be built to carry a road over the new platform was jacked and slid into position without closing the station.