Manchester Metrolink

Manchester Metrolink
Basic information
Country	Great Britain
city	Manchester
opening	April 6, 1992
operator	KeolisAmey ( Keolis , Amey)
Web presence	metrolink.co.uk
Infrastructure
Route length	101 km
Gauge	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Smallest  radius	25 m
Power system	750 V direct current , overhead line
Stops	99
business
Lines	9
Cruising speed	48 km / h
vehicles	120 Bombardier M5000 1 AnsaldoBreda T68 (historic vehicle)
Top speed	80 km / h
statistics
Passengers	34.3 million per year (2015/16)
Network plan

The Manchester Metrolink is a light rail system in the Greater Manchester area in England that has existed since 1992 and has been expanded since then . The Metrolink network consists of seven lines covering 92 kilometers and 93 stations; the lines connect central Manchester with end points in Altrincham , Ashton-under-Lyne , Bury , Didsbury , Eccles , Rochdale , Shaw and Crompton and Manchester Airport . It is the largest light rail network in Great Britain.

Metrolink is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the transport authority responsible for public transport in the Greater Manchester area, and has been operated by KeolisAmey (joint venture between Keolis and Amey, subsidiary of Ferrovial ) under a transport contract since July 15, 2017. operated. Until then, the operator was the French RATP , which had replaced the previous operator Stagecoach on August 1, 2011 . In the center of Manchester and on the branches to Eccles and Ashton-under-Lyne, the Metrolink trains run like a tram , with the resulting low travel speeds. With these sections, Metrolink stands for the revitalization of the tram in the UK; For thirty years there had only been such a thing in Blackpool . Most of the other network sections are former suburban railways on exclusive tracks, on which the maximum speed of 80 km / h is reached.

precursor

The first tram era in Manchester had lasted from 1877 to 1949. The first horse trams were used by the Manchester Suburban Tramways Company , which merged with the largest local bus company to form the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company in 1880 . The operated, partly directly, partly by leasing the railways to private operators, almost the entire network. Then the Manchester Corporation Tramways urban company electrified the network from 1901 to 1903. In 1930 a tram line was replaced by motor buses for the first time, and from 1938 onwards others were replaced by trolley buses . After the Second World War, they were quickly replaced by buses with internal combustion engines, the last tram line was closed in 1949, the last trolleybus line in 1966.

Building history

For decades there were plans to link Manchester's two main train stations, Piccadilly in the southeast and Victoria in the north of the city center. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Picc-Vicc railway tunnel was planned, but this project was then dropped because of excessive costs. At the end of the 1980s, the power supply on the railway line from Manchester-Victoria to Bury had to be urgently renewed; there were power rails here . Instead of replacing the system with a similar one, it was decided to install overhead lines . In addition, the two main stations were to be connected above ground by a tram-like route, creating the basis for building a light rail.

The first stretch

The first construction phase included the line from Bury via Manchester-Victoria to Altrincham with a branch line to Piccadilly station. The building permit was granted in January 1988, construction of the tram section began in March 1990. Metrolink operations between Bury and Victoria began on April 6, 1992, followed by the inner-city route from Victoria to G-Mex (the former Manchester Central station ) and on June 15, 1992 the G-Mex to Altrincham line. The official opening by Queen Elizabeth II took place on July 17, 1992, three days later the branch line to Piccadilly station went into operation. The G-Mex stop was renamed Deansgate-Castlefield in 2010 , as the G-MEX Center event hall had previously been renamed the Manchester Central Convention Complex .

Further expansion of the network

The other construction phases were numbered, but later there were changes in the order of the implementation, so that letters were added to the numbering; this article deliberately dispenses with these numbering.

• The construction of a branch line from Cornbrook via the former port of Salford to Eccles. Operations began in two stages, on December 6, 1999 to Broadway and on July 21, 2000 to Eccles terminus . On September 20, 2010, a branch line to MediaCityUK was put into operation between the Harbor City and Broadway stops .
• A new line from Trafford Bar on the Altrincham line to St Werburgh's Road . This was put into operation on July 7, 2011. Operations started on May 23, 2013 on the extension to East Didsbury .
• Reconstruction of an already existing railway line from Victoria via Oldham to Rochdale with individual tram-like sections. Operations from Victoria to the temporary terminal Oldham Mumps began on June 13, 2012. On December 16 of the same year the line was extended to Shaw and Crompton , on February 28, 2013 to Rochdale Railway Station . The extension to Rochdale Town Center followed on March 31, 2014. On January 27, 2014, the route within Oldham had already been relocated and the Westwood , Oldham King Street and Oldham Central stations had started operations.
• Extension of the branch line from Piccadilly to Ashton-under-Lyne . The section to the Droylsden station has been in regular service since February 11, 2013, the entire route to Ashton-under-Lyne since October 9, 2013.
• A new line from St Werburgh's Road to Manchester Airport . This was opened in November 2014.
• The second city center crossing was put into operation at the end of February 2017. The £ 185 million route allows more connections through the city center and is intended to increase punctuality and reliability in operations, as an alternative route is now available in the event of problems in the Piccadilly Gardens area. The route opened several months later than the original plan after the cemetery of the now defunct 18th-century Cross Street Chapel was discovered under Cross Street in 2015 and archaeologists recovered the remains.

Lines

The following lines operate in the current timetable (as of April 2018), some of which are differentiated by color:

line	Lines
	Altrincham  - Navigation Road - Sale  - Stretford - Old Trafford  - Trafford Bar - Cornbrook - Deansgate-Castlefield - St Peter's Square - Market Street - Shudehill - Victoria  - Crumpsall - Prestwich - Besses o 'th' Barn - Whitefield - Radcliffe - Bury operations only Monday to Saturday during the day
	Altrincham  - Navigation Road - Sale  - Stretford - Old Trafford  - Trafford Bar - Cornbrook - Deansgate-Castlefield - St Peter's Square - Piccadilly Gardens - Piccadilly
	Eccles  - Broadway (- MediaCityUK ) - Harbor City - Salford Quays - Cornbrook - Deansgate-Castlefield - St Peter's Square - Piccadilly Gardens - Piccadilly  - Etihad Campus - Droylsden  - Audenshaw  - Ashton Moss - Ashton West - Ashton-under-Lyne The MediaCityUK stop is only served outside the operating hours of the MediaCityUK – Ashton-under-Lyne line , that is, on Sundays, as well as in the early morning and late evening traffic Monday to Friday.
	MediaCityUK  - Harbor City - Salford Quays - Cornbrook - Deansgate-Castlefield - St Peter's Square - Piccadilly Gardens - Piccadilly  - Etihad Campus - Droylsden  - Audenshaw  - Ashton Moss - Ashton West - Ashton-under-Lyne only operates Monday to Saturday during the day
	Bury  - Radcliffe - Whitefield - Besses o 'th' Barn - Prestwich - Crumpsall - Victoria  - Shudehill - Market Street - Piccadilly Gardens - Piccadilly
	East Didsbury  - Didsbury Village - West Didsbury - St Werburgh's Road - Trafford Bar - Cornbrook - Deansgate-Castlefield - St Peter's Square - Exchange Square - Victoria  - Failsworth - Oldham Central - Oldham Mumps - Shaw and Crompton  - Rochdale Railway Station - Rochdale Town Center
	East Didsbury  - Didsbury Village - West Didsbury - St Werburgh's Road - Trafford Bar - Cornbrook - Deansgate-Castlefield - St Peter's Square - Exchange Square - Victoria  - Failsworth - Oldham Central - Oldham Mumps - Shaw and Crompton only operates Monday to Saturday during the day
	Manchester Airport  - Wythenshawe Town Center - Sale Water Park - St Werburgh's Road - Trafford Bar - Cornbrook - Deansgate-Castlefield  - Market Street - Victoria Night traffic between Manchester Airport and Deansgate-Castlefield every 20 minutes.
	intu Trafford Center  - Mosley, Village - Imperial War Museum  - Pomona - Cornbrook

Nine lines operate on the Manchester Metrolink network, the main lines being the Altrincham-Piccadilly , Eccles-Ashton-under-Lyne , Bury-Piccadilly , East Didsbury-Rochdale , Victoria-Manchester Airport and intu Trafford Center-Cornbrook . The MediaCityUK – Ashton-under-Lyne line strengthens the Eccles-Ashton-under-Lyne line on a section, whereby the MediaCityUK stop, which is connected to the Eccles line by a triangular track, is only served by the MediaCityUK – Ashton-under-Lyne line. If this does not run, the Eccles – Ashton-under-Lyne line travels to the stop as a drop-off. The Altrincham – Bury line strengthens the Altrincham – Piccadilly and Bury – Piccadilly lines ; the East Didsbury – Shaw and Crompton line, the East Didsbury – Rochdale line . On the Victoria – Manchester Airport line, there is also night traffic between Deansgate-Castlefield and Manchester Airport in order to connect the airport. The basic frequency of the network is every 12 minutes, only the nightly routes of the Victoria – Manchester Airport line run every 20 minutes.

Until January 2019 the tram lines were designated with numbers , until January 2018 with letters : Altrincham – Bury (1, previously A), Altrincham – Piccadilly (2, previously B), Eccles – Ashton-under-Lyne (3, previously E) Bury – Piccadilly (4, previously C), East Didsbury – Rochdale (5, previously G), East Didsbury – Shaw and Crompton (5, previously H), Victoria – Manchester Airport (6, previously F), MediaCityUK – Ashton-under -Lyne (7, previously D). Before the network changeover at the end of February 2017, lines I, J and K were also running.

vehicles

Light rail type T-68 in Manchester city center

At Sale station

Near Eccles

M5000 light rail

Two type M5000 cars in double traction

Metrolink's rolling stock currently consists of 105 high-floor wagons of the Flexity Swift M5000 type , 120 are planned. The first nine wagons were ordered in April 2007, and in December 2009 the first multiple units began operating. The older type T-68 and T-68a light rail cars, which were built by AnsaldoBreda in Italy , were all decommissioned from 2012 to 2014, only one multiple unit has survived.

Ongoing expansion and planning

A connection to the Trafford Center is scheduled to be completed in 2020. This will expand the network to 99 stops and a length of around 106 km.

Operational peculiarities

Approximately 600 m of the route to Altrincham is single-tracked between Timperley and Navigation Road, including the Navigation Road stop. The parallel track to the east is not connected to the Metrolink track system and is used exclusively by diesel-powered regional trains from Manchester Piccadilly station via Stockport to Chester .

Web links

Commons : Manchester Metrolink  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Metrolink website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Josh Halliday: New £ 185m Manchester tram line that unearthed burial site opens. In: The Guardian , February 26, 2017, accessed March 1, 2017
2. ↑ La RATP s'offre le tramway de Manchester. In: La Tribune , August 2, 2011.
3. ↑ Museum of Transport Greater Manchester, A Short History of Public Transport in Greater Manchester ( Memento of the original from November 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ^ New Metrolink service to Ashton opens. (No longer available online.) In: TFGM.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014 ; accessed on March 23, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ According to the current route network plan and the travel times of the lines .