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Greater Manchester’s light rail revolution

Posted: 9 August 2007 | Jeff Done, GMPTE’s Metrolink Team Leader | No comments yet

Greater Manchester’s Metrolink network has become one of the most successful light rail schemes in the UK since it began operating in 1992. Passengers now make around 55,000 journeys on the service every day; that’s nearly 20 million each year.

There are three Metrolink lines which run from Manchester to Bury in the North of the county, Altrincham in the South-West and Eccles in the West. The Bury and Altrincham lines, which replaced heavy rail routes, were the first to open and the Eccles line followed in 2000. Metrolink runs through the heart of Manchester city centre and links the two main train stations at Victoria and Piccadilly.

Greater Manchester’s Metrolink network has become one of the most successful light rail schemes in the UK since it began operating in 1992. Passengers now make around 55,000 journeys on the service every day; that’s nearly 20 million each year. There are three Metrolink lines which run from Manchester to Bury in the North of the county, Altrincham in the South-West and Eccles in the West. The Bury and Altrincham lines, which replaced heavy rail routes, were the first to open and the Eccles line followed in 2000. Metrolink runs through the heart of Manchester city centre and links the two main train stations at Victoria and Piccadilly.

Greater Manchester’s Metrolink network has become one of the most successful light rail schemes in the UK since it began operating in 1992. Passengers now make around 55,000 journeys on the service every day; that’s nearly 20 million each year.

There are three Metrolink lines which run from Manchester to Bury in the North of the county, Altrincham in the South-West and Eccles in the West. The Bury and Altrincham lines, which replaced heavy rail routes, were the first to open and the Eccles line followed in 2000. Metrolink runs through the heart of Manchester city centre and links the two main train stations at Victoria and Piccadilly.

We’re currently investing over £100 million on improvements to the network, which include new trams and track and ticket machines. Work to replace nearly 20 miles of worn out track on the Bury and Altrincham lines began in May and is due to be finished by mid-September.

Sections of the track are more than 50 years old in some places as the lines were used by trains before Metrolink took them over in 1992. Tram rides will be much smoother and quieter when the work is finished. The service should also be more reliable as the trams will need fewer repairs due to wear and tear from the track.

We launched a major information campaign earlier this year to make passengers aware of this summer’s work. Thousands of leaflets were handed out to passengers, and we put up posters on board trams and at stops. Our staff also contacted local residents living near to the lines to keep them informed about the work.

The new track for the Bury line has been transported on the East Lancashire Railway (ELR), saving approximately 4,000 lorry journeys on local roads. Some 60,000 tonnes of ballast, 40,000 tonnes of sleepers, and nearly 40 miles of rail have been stored at the ELR depot in Bury. We’ve also worked closely with Network Rail to bring in overnight deliveries of track for the Altrincham line on freight trains.

We decided to carry out the work during the summer months when fewer people would normally be using Metrolink. We’ve been keeping as much of the network open as possible and trams are continuing to run on the Eccles line and in the city centre throughout the summer.

Metrolink passengers have been able to use replacement bus services when the stops have been closed, and extra staff have been on duty to offer advice. Metrolink return and season tickets have also been available at a discount since mid-June.

Passengers have appreciated the need for the work to be done and we’ve been pleased by the feedback we’ve received about the replacement bus services.

We began a phased closure of the Bury Metrolink line at the end of May. The Bury Interchange and Radcliffe Metrolink stops were first to close with five more stops following towards the end of June. We finally closed the whole of the line, between Bury and Manchester Victoria, towards the end of July. It is due to re-open in mid-September.

We closed seven stops on the Altrincham line at the start of July, before closing the whole of the line between Altrincham and Cornbrook at the end of July. The line is due to re-open at the end of August. As well as replacing track, we’ve been improving the platform edges to make it easier to get on and off the trams.

Metrolink passengers have had the choice of using either trains or buses while the work on the Altrincham line has been taking place. We have provided additional carriages on six rush-hour trains between Altrincham and Manchester, as well as up to 28 extra buses an hour along the Metrolink route. Passengers who travel from the Altrincham, Navigation Road or Timperley Metrolink stops have been able to use their tickets on Northern Rail services from Hale, Altrincham or Navigation Road to reach Manchester city centre.

The track upgrades are just part of our multi-million pound investment in the Metrolink network. We’ve got eight new trams on order to help tackle overcrowding at peak times and improve the reliability and performance of services. Earlier this year, we signed a deal with Canadian transport company Bombardier to build the new trams. They are due to be introduced to the network during 2009. We expect to be able to place an order for at least 28 more trams in the near future for three new Metrolink lines.

Stagecoach has also recently taken over as the new Metrolink operator. The transport company will run services on the network for the next decade, including the new lines when they open. It will also be responsible for maintaining the Metrolink system, including the track and stops.

We are investing over £500 million on new lines to Rochdale in the North of the county, Droylsden to the East and Chorlton in South Manchester. The Rochdale line will replace the existing heavy rail line which runs between Rochdale, Oldham and Manchester. We will also be using the route of a former railway line when we build the extension to Chorlton.

We expect the new Metrolink lines to take 5 million car journeys off the roads each year, and for passengers to make an extra 13 million trips on the service. We have begun the process of selecting a major construction company to build the new Metrolink lines by publishing a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. Work is due to start next year and the new lines are expected to open in 2011/2012.

But that isn’t the end of our ambitions for Metrolink. We are still committed to completing our original expansion plans and are working with the government to secure further funding for them. We plan to build extensions to the Rochdale line into Oldham and Rochdale town centres, continue the Droylsden line to Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside, and to build two new lines from Chorlton to East Didsbury and to Manchester Airport.

When both phases of the Metrolink expansion are complete, Greater Manchester’s Metrolink network will cover nearly 60 miles, making it the biggest light rail system in the UK.

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