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Manchester Metrolink

Locale	Greater Manchester; the Cities of Manchester and Salford, and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Trafford and Bury
Transit type	Electrified Metro Tramway
Began operation	1992
System length	37 km
No. of lines	2
No. of stations	37
Daily ridership	49,000 (18 million per year)
Operator	SercoTill 2007

Manchester Metrolink is a light-rail tramway in Greater Manchester, in England, centred on Manchester city centre.

Metrolink is operated by Altram (Manchester) Limited, owned by Serco, on behalf of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, which owns the system and is also a shareholder of Altram. In 2007 the network will be operated by a new operator, as Serco has not made it to the final two bidders when the contact is re-tendered.

The Metrolink network is approximately 23 miles long, with 37 stops. Mosley Street stop in the city centre serves only trams travelling westward. Because much of the route of Metrolink 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 1 Construction history 2 Routes 3 Fare structure 4 Vehicles 4.1 List of Trams by name and number 5 Patronage 6 Changes to the system since original construction 7 Future developments 7.1 New contractors 8 Policing 9 Failings 10 References 11 See also 12 External links

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.

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.

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.

See also: Normal weekday and Saturday service is on the following routes:

1. Piccadilly station – Altrincham
2. Piccadilly station – Bury
3. Piccadilly station – Eccles
4. Altrincham – Bury (direct, not via Piccadilly Gardens and Piccadilly station)

Service frequency is normally 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, the addition of the Eccles service increases the frequency.

The Altrincham – Bury direct service does not operate on Sundays. The current route length is:

Phase 1
Bury – Victoria	9.9 miles
Victoria – G-Mex	1.9 miles
Spur to Piccadilly station	0.4 miles
G-Mex – Altrincham	6.5 miles
Phase 2
Cornbrook – Broadway	1.9 miles
Broadway – Eccles	2.2 miles

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 to the right.

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.

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.

Twenty-three of the trams have name plates, named after famous Mancunian people, achievements or places.

• 1001
• 1002 Virgin Megastores
• 1003
• 1004 The Robert Owen
• 1005 The Railway Mission
• 1006
• 1007 Sony Centre Arndale
• 1008
• 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
• 1024 John Greenwood
• 1025
• 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

^{[1] [2]}

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.

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.

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	14.9 miles	22
Extension to Manchester Airport	13 miles	26
Extension to Ashton-under-Lyne	6.2 miles	9
Extension to East Didsbury (optional, with possible further extension to Stockport)	8.7 miles	9
Extension to the Trafford Centre shopping centre (currently served by a shuttle bus from Stretford Metrolink stop) subject to private-sector funding	4.3 miles	7

In its review of transport expenditure published on 20 July 2004, the government withdrew funding 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[3]

A network including all the proposed expansions will increase the size from 23 miles with 37 stops to 70 miles with 107 stops.

The shortlisted bidders for the new Metrolink contracts are:

Project Tenderers

Operations and Tram Maintenance:

• Stagecoach Group
• Keolis

Infrastructure Maintenance:

• Carillion
• First Group Engineering

Combined Operations and Tram maintenance, and Infrastructure Maintenance:

• Stagecoach Group
• Keolis

Metrolink is policed by the Greater Manchester Police, not the British Transport Police. However the British Transport Police and British Transport Police Community Support Officers often travel on the trams between Manchester Piccadilly railway station and Manchester Victoria railway station.

An initiative of Greater Manchester Police, which saw around 15 officers routinely patrolling the tram network, was stopped due to lack of funds.

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 similar route, despite buses not being able to use the dedicated Metrolink infrastructure.

Since Metrolink's inception and the initial euphoria at the huge 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 (one that does not is Woodlands Road). Some 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.^{[citation needed]}

1. ^ 'Trams except 1018' List of Trams at British Trams Online
2. ^ 'Tram 1018' Tram 1018 missing from list above
3. ^ '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

• Light rail
• Tram
• Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive

• 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

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