The four companies comprise civil engineering specialists Amey, Skanska, and Bam Nuttall as well as Siemens, which will be responsible for signalling, telecommunications and power for the electrified link. Preliminary work started in October 2015 and the project is due to be completed at the end of 2017.

The scheme involves the construction of a 300m-long double-track viaduct to the west of Manchester city centre to provide a link between Victoria station on the north side of the city and Oxford Road and Piccadilly stations on the south side.

The Ordsall Chord is a key component of the Northern Hub programme of capacity enhancements in northern England, and will allow the introduction of two new fast trains per hour between Manchester Victoria and Liverpool, six fast trains an hour between Leeds and Manchester, a new direct service through Manchester city centre to Manchester Airport, and shorter journey times from Manchester to Hull and Newcastle.