Manchester Metrolink
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The Metrolink is the light-rail tramway that runs in Greater Manchester, in England, centred on Manchester city centre.
Metrolink is operated by Altram (Manchester) Limited, a company owned by Serco, on behalf of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, which owns the system and is also a shareholder of Altram.
The Metrolink network is approximately 37 km 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 a main-line railway, the stations on the former railway routes have normal platforms about 900 mm above ground level; consequently the new stops built in the city centre also have 900 mm-high platforms.
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 Pic-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 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 of Metrolink, which was an extension from Cornbrook, on the Altrincham line, through Salford Quays to Eccles. Service on the new route started as far as Broadway on 6 December 1999 and to Eccles on 21 July 2000.
Routes
Normal weekday and Saturday service is on the following routes:
- Piccadilly station – Altrincham
- Piccadilly station – Bury
- Piccadilly station – Eccles
- Altrincham – Bury (direct, not via Piccadilly Gardens and Piccadilly station)
The Altrincham – Bury direct service does not operate on Sundays. The current route length is:
| Phase 1 | |
|---|---|
| Bury – Victoria | 15.9 km |
| Victoria – G-Mex | 3.1 km |
| Spur to Piccadilly station | 0.7 km |
| G-Mex – Altrincham | 10.4 km |
| Phase 2 | |
| Cornbrook – Broadway | 3.0 km |
| Broadway – Eccles | 3.5 km |
Fare structure
Fares are charged depending on the number of fare zones travelled through, and whether travel is in the peak period. The Metrolink definition of peak period is ‘before 09:30 on a weekday’.The zones are:
| Zone | Contains |
|---|---|
| A | Bury, Radcliffe, Whitefield |
| B | Besses o’ th’ Barn, Prestwich, Heaton Park |
| C | Bowker Vale, Crumpsall, Woodlands Road |
| City Zone (D) | Everything between Victoria and G-Mex |
| E | Trafford Bar, Old Trafford, Stretford |
| F | Dane Road, Sale, Brooklands |
| G | Timperley, Navigation Road, Altrincham |
| H | Pomona, Exchange Quay, Salford Quays, Anchorage, Harbour City, Broadway, Langworthy, Weaste, Ladywell, Eccles |
Zone H borders Zones D and E.
Tickets are purchased from machines located 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 on the Metrolink. A "standard fare" is charged for people discovered travelling without a ticket - in any 12 month period, £10 for a first offence if paid on the spot (£15 if paid within 21 days); £20 for a second offence (£30/21 days); £40 for a third offence (£60/21 days); and £80 for a fourth offence.[link] 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. As the network does not have any barrier system similar to other urban Metro systems, some locals have a habbit "'Jibbing the tram" (local slang) hoping to avoid an inspection. Pomona station was built with ticket barriers, currently not used but seemingly reserved for future use. The change from paper tickets to more rigid card tickets on the newer ticket machines may mean that some form of barrier system will be used in future at the main interchanges.
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 type 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.
Patronage
Metrolink carried 18.8 million passengers in 2004, compared to 7.5 million who used the Bury and Altrincham rail services prior to the construction of Metrolink. At peak times, the Metrolink trams are frequently overcrowded, especially in Manchester City Centre.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.
Future developments
The government had authorised the construction of Phase III of Metrolink, which would have seen a massive increase in the size of the network providing all the necessary money could be found:
| Project | Length | New trams required |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion of existing railway from Victoria to Oldham and Rochdale plus some street running | 24 km | 22 |
| Extension to Manchester International Airport | 21 km | 26 |
| Extension to Ashton-under-Lyne | 10 km | 9 |
| Extension to East Didsbury (optional, with possible further extension to Stockport) | 14 km | 9 |
| Extension to the Trafford Centre shopping centre (currently served by a shuttle bus from Stretford Metrolink stop) subject to private-sector funding | 7 km | 7 |
However, 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. 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, which 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.'[Metrolink wins a "Little Bang"]', article in the Manchester Evening News
In total, a complete network based on all the proposed expansions will increase the network from 37 km with 37 stops to 113 km with 107 stops, which will make Metrolink the biggest light-rail network in the country after the London Underground.
Failings
One of the criticisms leveled at Metrolink is that it does not reach the Trafford Centre, other than via a shuttle bus from Stretford Metrolink stop. 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.
Ticket machines 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.
See also
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
Sources
| Local rail transport in the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| Metros :
| Docklands Light Railway (East London) > Glasgow Subway | London Underground | Tyne and Wear Metro |
| Tramways :
| Blackpool | Manchester | Midland Metro (West Midlands) | Nottingham | Sheffield | Tramlink (South London) |
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