MANCHESTER METROLINK

'Manchester Metrolink' is an urban light-rail system in Greater Manchester, England centred on Manchester City Centre. It operates services to the towns of Bury, Altrincham and Eccles.
Metrolink is operated by Stagecoach Group, on behalf of GMPTE.
The Metrolink network is approximately long, with 37 stops along the route. Because much of the Metrolink route was formerly main-line railway with platforms about 900 mm above ground level, the new stops in the city centre also have 900 mm-high platforms.

Contents

Construction history

Routes

Transport Interchanges

Tram stop list

Fare structure

Vehicles

List of Trams by name and number

Patronage

2007 Track Renewals

Changes to the system since original construction

Future developments

Policing

Failings

References

See also

External links

Construction history

For many years there had been plans to connect Manchester's two main railway stations, Piccadilly station to the south-east of the city centre, and Victoria station to the north. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there were plans for a ''Picc-Vic tunnel'' to carry main-line trains, but the proposal was abandoned because of excessive cost. By the late 1980s, the power equipment on the electrified suburban railway line from Victoria to Bury, which had a unique-in-Britain side-contact third-rail power supply, was in need of replacement, and it was decided, rather than replace the equipment on a like-for-like basis, to construct a light rail system that would connect the Victoria–Bury line via on-street lines with the line to Altrincham, south-west of the city, and in the city centre to Piccadilly station.
The Metrolink lines were formed by closing two electric train lines to trains between Altrincham and Cornbrook Junction (former Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway) and between Bury and Manchester Victoria. This meant that trains ceased to operate to Bury and trains arriving at Altrincham from Knutsford, Northwich and Chester are diverted to Manchester via Stockport, adding at least 10 minutes to an already slow journey. The disbenefits of Metrolink's creation to the rail users of south Manchester and north Cheshire were considerable and remain so today (2007).

Authority to construct Phase I of Metrolink (Bury to Altrincham via city centre, with a spur to Piccadilly station) was granted in January 1988, with construction of the on-street section beginning in March 1990. Metrolink opened between Bury and Victoria on 6 April 1992, through the city centre between Victoria and G-Mex (the former Manchester Central railway station, now an exhibition centre) on 27 April 1992, and between G-Mex and Altrincham on 15 June 1992. The system was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 July 1992, and trams started operating into Piccadilly station on 20 July 1992, completing Phase I of the system.
In each case, conversion of the existing railway lines to Metrolink took far longer than had been indicated by Metrolink's promoters and local politicians alike. The Altrincham line was closed for 6 months, rather than one month as promised, with bus substitution during that period. Metrolink initially indicated that the cause was trackwork in poorer condition than expected, but no substantiating evidence was ever produced, nor was any claim ever made against the former operator. In contrast, Metrolink's own new trackwork in Manchester's city centre required reinstalling twice in the first years of operation, due to inadequate quality controls and poor design work, such as placing switches directly where the blades could be expected to be repeatedly crossed by buses.
On 25 April 1997 work began on Phase II, an extension from Cornbrook, on the Altrincham line, through Salford Quays to Eccles. Service started as far as Broadway on 6 December 1999 and to Eccles on 21 July 2000.

Routes

Metrolink's Monday-Saturday service:
#Piccadilly station – Altrincham
#Piccadilly station – Bury
#Piccadilly station – Eccles
#Altrincham – Bury (Daytime only) (not via Piccadilly Gardens and Piccadilly station)
Metrolink's Sunday & Bank Holiday service:
#Piccadilly station – Altrincham
#Piccadilly station – Bury
#Piccadilly station – Eccles
The Altrincham-Bury service does not operate on Sundays. Passengers are required to change at Piccadilly Gardens.
Frequency on each service is every 12 minutes, but the interleaving of the Altrincham – Bury direct service with the services to Piccadilly Station mean that for much of the route there are two trams every 12 minutes, usually three and nine minutes apart.
Between Cornbrook and St Peter’s Square, with three services (Altrincham-Bury, Altrincham-Piccadilly and Eccles-Piccadilly) running every 12 minutes, the frequency is increased even moreso.
The current route length is:

Phase 1
Bury – Victoria
Victoria – G-Mex
Spur to Piccadilly station
G-Mex – Altrincham
Phase 2
Cornbrook – Broadway
Broadway – Eccles

Transport Interchanges

Passenger rail interchanges are situated along the Metrolink route. These include Piccadilly, Victoria station, G-mex for Deansgate, Altrincham, Navigation Road and Eccles.
Major bus interchanges are also situated at Bury, Whitefield, Victoria, Shudehill, Picadilly Gardens, Altrincham and Eccles Metrolink Stations.
System One Travel Cards can be bought from Metrolink Ticket Machines and can be used on busses and/or trains in Greater Manchester. National Rail tickets can also be bought with a Metrolink station or zone as the destination. This through-ticketing makes the journey easier for passengers who wish to change mode of transport.

Tram stop list

Bury Line	Altrincham Line	Eccles Line
★ Piccadilly ★ Piccadilly Gardens ★ Market Street ★ Shudehill ★ Manchester Victoria ★ Woodlands Road ★ Crumpsall ★ Bowker Vale ★ Heaton Park ★ Prestwich ★ Besses o'th' Barn ★ Whitefield ★ Radcliffe ★ Bury	★ Piccadilly ★ Piccadilly Gardens ★ Mosley Street (southbound only) ★ St Peter's Square ★ G-Mex ★ Cornbrook ★ Trafford Bar ★ Old Trafford ★ Stretford (for shuttle bus to Trafford Centre) ★ Dane Road ★ Sale ★ Brooklands ★ Timperley ★ Navigation Road ★ Altrincham	★ Piccadilly ★ Piccadilly Gardens ★ Mosley Street ★ St Peter's Square ★ G-Mex ★ Cornbook ★ Pomona ★ Exchange Quay ★ Salford Quays ★ Anchorage ★ Harbour City ★ Broadway ★ Langworthy ★ Weaste ★ Ladywell ★ Eccles

Fare structure

Fares are charged depending on the number of fare zones travelled through, and whether travel is in the peak period - before 09:30 on a weekday, except on public holidays. The zones are shown above.
Tickets are purchased from machines at each stop. Single journeys must be completed within 90 minutes, return journeys the same day. It is also possible to purchase tickets from the machines for travel all day, for groups, or all weekend. Half the ticket machines accept only coins; the others will also accept banknotes, and give a maximum of £7 in change.
'Fares': a ticket must be purchased before travel. A "standard fare" is charged for travelling without a ticket - for a first offence, £10 if paid on the spot, £15 if paid within 21 days; for a second offence in 12 months, £20 (£30 within 21 days); for a third offence, £40 (£60 within 21 days); for a fourth offence, £80.[1] Metrolink inspectors often board trams en masse at random tram stops, and frequently blockade the arrival platform at Piccadilly Station in the evening rush hour. Many people after being caught without a ticket have fled the station in an attempt to avoid leaving details with the inspectors so as to avoid receiving a fine, so Greater Manchester Police are often present at the checks. As the network does not have barrier system, some locals have a habit of "jumping the tram" (local slang) hoping to avoid an inspection. Pomona station was built with ticket barriers, currently not used. The change from paper tickets to more rigid card tickets on the newer ticket machines may mean that a barrier system will be used in future at the main interchanges.
Train users travelling into the city centre from stations in Greater Manchester are able to use the Metrolink in the central zone for free. These train tickets can be used between Victoria, Shudehill, Market Street, Piccadilly Gardens, Piccadilly, Mosley Street, St Peter's Square and G-Mex. ^[1]

Vehicles

The Metrolink fleet currently consists of 26 Italian-built T-68 light-rail vehicles built in 1991 and numbered in the 1000 series, and six T68a vehicles built in 1999 for the Eccles extension and numbered in the 2000 series. The LRVs are articulated in the centre and normally operate singly, except during the rush hours when there are a few double trams along the Bury - Altrincham route. The 2000 series trams are modified for the Eccles line, which involves large amounts of street running, with retractable and covered couplers and covered bogies. Three 1000 series trams (1005, 1010 and 1015) are also modified in this way.
In April 2007 8 new trams were ordered for the Metrolink. These will be Flexity Swift high-floor trams similar to those currently employed on Croydon Tramlink and in the German cities of Cologne and Bonn.
Twenty-three of the trams have name plates, named after famous Mancunian people, achievements or places.

List of Trams by name and number

★ ''1001''

★ ''1002'' Virgin Megastores

★ ''1003''

★ ''1004'' The Robert Owen

★ ''1005'' The Railway Mission

★ ''1006''

★ ''1007'' Sony Centre Arndale

★ ''1008'' Steve Hyde (name plates on one end only)

★ ''1009'' Virgin Megastores

★ ''1010''

★ ''1011'' Superb/ Virgin Megastores

★ ''1012'' Virgin Megastores

★ ''1013'' The Grenadier Guardsman (name stickers on one side only)

★ ''1014'' The Great Manchester Runner

★ ''1015'' Burma Star

★ ''1016'' Virgin Megastores

★ ''1017'' Bury Hospice

★ ''1018'' Electra

★ ''1019''

★ ''1020'' Lancashire Fusilier

★ ''1021'' Starlight Express

★ ''1022'' The Poppy Appeal

★ ''1023'' Tommy Giblin

★ ''1024'' John Green

★ ''1025'' Ashley Platt

★ ''1026'' The Power

★ ''2001'' Joe Clarke

★ ''2002'' Sony Centre Arndale

★ ''2003'' Traveller 2000

★ ''2004'' Salford Lads Club

★ ''2005'' WH Smith West One

★ ''2006'' Sony Centre Arndale
^[2]
[3]

Patronage

Metrolink carried 18.8 million passengers in 2004, compared to 7.5 million who used the Bury and Altrincham rail services before Metrolink. At peak times, the trams are frequently overcrowded, especially at the city centre stations.
However, ridership figures need to be treated with some caution. The previous rail system had been consciously starved of maintenance for several years in anticipation of handover to Metrolink and the handover occurred in a time of recession. In addition, from its inception, several classes of passenger such as the elderly could travel on Metrolink at reduced fares which had previously only been available on buses, not trains. This significantly boosted off-peak travel levels.
In the first two years of Metrolink operation, peak hour patronage was well below expected levels, but off-peak patronage exceeded expectations. Metrolink reacted by reducing peak fares which improved loadings. However, the majority of increased patronage can fairly be estimated to have occurred as a result of improving economic conditions and increased congestion on alternative roads.

2007 Track Renewals

Due to the age and condition of most of the track on the Bury and Altrincham routes it was decided that the mostly 1960's trackwork was to be relaid. This construction work includes improvements to stations along the lines. The Metrolink Expansion programme will commence on the Oldham Loop Line soon after the work on the existing lines is completed.
'Bury Line'
The renewals commenced on 29 May 2007 with the cessation of services between Bury and Whitefield. By 22 June 2007 services on the Bury line terminated at Crumpsall. By 23 July there was no service on the Bury line as all northbound Metrolink trams terminate at Victoria. The Bury Line will reopen on 12 September 2007.
'Altrincham Line'
The track along this route was not as worn as that on the Bury line so not as much work was required. From 2 July 2007 various sections of the line were shut down and serviced with a replacement bus service. The Altrincham Line re-opened on 27 August 2007.
'Alternative Arrangements'
X1 X2 X3 and 400 Replacement Bus Services which all adorn different routes and different stations along the Bury Line now operate. These services terminate and commence from Manchester's Shudehill Interchange. Serving the Altrincham Line the X4 and 500 Replacement bus services were in operation between St Peter's Square and Altrincham.
Trams continue to operate in the City Centre between Picadilly and Victoria. The Eccles line service continues to operate as normal between Piccadilly and Eccles and there is a higher frequency, increased capacity National Rail service along the Mid-Cheshire Line linking Navigation Road and Altrincham stations with Manchester along the slower Altrincham-Stockport-Manchester route.

Changes to the system since original construction

There have been a few modifications to the system since the opening of Phase I in 1992.

★ Originally the stop in Market Street handled trams to Bury only, and the one around the corner in High Street handled trams from Bury only. When Market Street was closed to road traffic these stops were replaced by a new platform stop in the centre of Market Street, which handles trams in both directions. This stop opened on 10 August 1998.

★ Cornbrook station on the Altrincham line was opened to provide an interchange with the new line to Eccles. There was initially no public access to this station from the street, but this changed in 2005.

★ Shudehill Interchange between Victoria station and Market Street opened in April 2003. The bus station complementing it opened on 29 January 2006.

★ On 15 July 2007 Stagecoach took over as the Metrolink operator from Serco.

Future developments

The government had authorised the construction of Phase III of Metrolink, which will see a massive increase in the size of the network providing all the necessary money can be found:

Project	Length	New trams required
Conversion of existing railway from Victoria to Oldham and Rochdale (plus some street running)		22
Extension to Manchester Airport		26
Extension to Ashton-under-Lyne		9
Extension to East Didsbury (optional, with possible further extension to Stockport)		9
Extension to the Trafford Centre shopping centre (currently served by a shuttle bus from Stretford Metrolink stop, which will stop at Old Trafford Football Ground) ''subject to private-sector funding''
Running tram-trains from Manchester down the existing tram/rail line to Altrincham and on to Hale and the Cheshire towns of Knutsford and Northwich.	N/A existing tram and train lines would be used	At least 3 tram-trains depending on No of services
Possible "Phase 4" or 5 now being actively discussed by GMPTE including second city centre crossing	N/A	Not known yet

In its review of transport expenditure published on 20 July 2004, the government withdrew funding under the "Darling Axe" for Phase III, which was therefore put on hold. The GMPTE fought against the decision, supported by the local councils and local community. In July 2005, GMPTE trying to save costs, announced that the western part of the Wythenshawe Loop (and Wythenshawe Hospital, Newall Green and Davenport Green stations) would not be built. On 16 December 2004 the government announced that £520 million would be authorised for Phase III. A first stage of Phase III was given the go-ahead by the DTP on 6 July 2006, with a £300m funding gap expected to be met by a loan. Stage IIIa consists of the extensions to Rochdale Railway Station, Droylsden, and St Werburgh's Road. A bid for the second stage, would take the total cost of Phase III to an estimated £1.2 billion, will probably be made in 2007, and a road charging scheme is expected to be included to cover some of the cost.^[4]
A network including all the proposed expansions will increase the size from
with 37 stops to
with 107 stops.

Policing

Metrolink is policed by both the Greater Manchester Police, and the British Transport Police. The British Transport Police and British Transport Police Community Support Officers often travel on the trams between Manchester Piccadilly railway station, Manchester Victoria railway station and Altrincham station.
An initiative by Greater Manchester Police, which saw around 15 officers routinely patrolling the tram network, was stopped due to lack of funds. However there is a new service provided by Carlisle Security that do travel trams regularly doing ticket checks on behalf of the GMPTE who own the Metrolink system

Failings

Metrolink attracted significant negative publicity in its early days (see, for example, correspondence in Modern Railways magazine during 1992/93). Delays in construction, closures for rebuilding defective trackwork and lack of thought in ticketing and information systems all attracted criticism. Politically, the system was deemed to be an immediate success, though the tax burden on Greater Manchester's ratepayers increased notably, since Metrolink attracted subsidies the previous trains had not.
Many of the initial problems have been addressed during the years, but ticketing and passenger information remain major failings. Through ticketing beyond the Manchester suburban area is nonexistent for travellers from Metrolink stations (though possible travelling inbound from elsewhere in Great Britain), leading to significant fare increases on journeys involving the wider rail system. When the Altrincham and Bury services were part of the national rail network, through ticketing was obviously possible. In this respect, Metrolink might appear to suffer from the Balkanisation common to all local Metro services split from the national rail network.
Another perceived issue with Metrolink is its inability to connect with the rail route south of Altrincham. Services on the Chester - Altrincham -Stockport- Manchester line are considerably slower because they cannot use the former route via Timperley and Cornbrook Junction which was converted to form Metrolink's Altrincham Line.
Passenger information screens were provided from Metrolink's inception, but were not used. At key locations in Manchester's city centre, it was for many years impossible to determine how long a wait there would be for a given route, nor to find the times fo first or last services! Metrolink's official standpoint was that such a frequent service did not require either timetable or active passenger information. That stance has subsequently changed and 'next tram' data is now evident at very few stations, mostly in the city centre though its reliability is debatable.
One of the criticisms levelled at Metrolink is that it does not reach the Trafford Centre, other than via a shuttle bus from Stretford Metrolink stop, and travel on this shuttle bus is not covered by the MetroMax ticket that allows travel through the rest of the network. The line from Manchester city centre to Eccles is also disappointing, as it takes longer than an equivalent bus journey following a more direct route (not via Salford Quays), despite buses not being able to use the dedicated Metrolink infrastructure.
Since Metrolink's inception and the initial euphoria at the alleged success by local public transport and environmental groups, it has become something of a victim of its own popularity. Many services are extremely busy, especially at peak times, and fares have risen at a rate far above that of inflation. The ride can also be seen by some as uncomfortable owing to their excessive yawing and rolling motion.
The ticket machine's design has also been criticised, as, despite the high cost of some tickets, they do not accept debit/credit cards, and half of the machines do not accept bank notes, although most stops have at least one machine that accepts bank notes. Some machines also have difficulty with some coins.
Another potential failing has been identified in the single route through the city centre. The first problem is likely to arise when the new extensions are open - with six or seven routes all filing through the one route, questions have been raised about the possibility of a 'tram-jam'. The other issue is that the focus of the city centre is moving to other quarters not currently served by Metrolink. Suggestions have been made that any future phases of the system might include a second route through another section of the city centre. There have also been calls for the system to be extended along the busy Oxford/Wilmslow Roads - possibly underground.
Observations have also shown traffic signal phasing at certain junctions (particularly at Piccadilly and also at High Street/Bridgewater Place) are not giving priority to Metrolink services, often holding trams waiting for 2-3 minutes at a single junction. This has resulted to bunching of services at peak times.

References

1. Free tram rides for Greater Manchester's train passengers
2. 'Trams except 1018' List of Trams at British Trams Online
3. 'Tram 1018' Tram 1018 missing from list above
4. 'Metrolink wins a "Little Bang"', article in the Manchester Evening News


★ Holt, D., (1992), ''Manchester Metrolink'', UK Light Rail Systems No. 1, Platform 5 Publishing, ISBN 1-872524-36-2

See also

★ Transport in Manchester

★ Light rail

★ Tram

★ Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive

External links

★ Metrolink Information page and Metrolink Development page from GMPTE (The Passenger Transport Executive for Greater Manchester)

★ Campaign for the extension of the system.

★ Metrolink website

★ Metrolink route map (69KB PDF file)

★ Transport Briefing Latest Metrolink developments, including news of phase 3 expansion approved in July 2006

★ Metrolink page from Light Rail Transit Association

★ TheTrams.co.uk Photographs of Metrolink trams.

★ Collection of Google Earth locations of Metrolink stations (Requires Google Earth software) from the Google Earth Community forum.

★ Manchester Metrolink, Tony Williams, Manchester Area Officer, Light Rail Transit Association

★ Picc-Vic, Full history of SELNEC Manchester Urban Rapid Transit Plans

★ Metrolink Virtual, Virtual Manchester Metrolink route project for MSTS

★ Flash Movie of the new Alstom Metrolink Tram from Luminova.net

★ Flash Picture of the new Alstom Metrolink Tram from Luminova.net

★ Metrolink future route map (917KB PDF file)