TRAMS were running through Manchester city centre again today after engineers completed a multi-million pound track upgrade on time.
Metrolink chiefs re-opened the route between Victoria Station and St Peter’s Square after the major repair project that began in April came to an end.
The 16-year-old tracks have been ripped up and replaced as part of a £100m overhaul of the tram system.
Metrolink stops in Piccadilly Gardens and St Peter’s Square have also been revamped and new, state-of-the-art ticket machines that accept credit cards have been installed.
Transport bosses have hailed this morning’s 6am re-opening as a success.
They have also announced that passengers will be able to travel for free on two days this month – on November 14 and 19 – as a thank you for their patience during the revamp.
Coun Keith Whitmore, the chairman of the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority, said: "I am delighted that the familiar ‘toot’ of the trams has returned to city centre streets after several months away. They have certainly been missed but I am sure everyone will agree that it has been worth the wait.
"I hope that the two days of free travel we are announcing today will go some way to repaying passengers for their patience during this work. We trust they will give both shoppers and commuters the chance to experience the improvements firsthand, as well as get to great festive events, such as the Christmas markets."
Manchester council’s city centre spokesman Pat Karney had urged the authority to give commuters the two-day fare holiday to say sorry for earlier disruption.
Upgrade work at Piccadilly Gardens, under a £22m project to revitalise the city centre tram network, includes widening the station and installing new canopies to provide better shelter for passengers.
The St Peter’s Square stop has also been widened during the revamp, which included painting the stops in Metrolink’s yellow and silver livery. Services began running again in the city at 6am today.
Metrolink staff were on hand to help passengers to use ten new ticket machines, which have been placed at St Peter’s Square and Piccadilly Gardens.
Some of the original machines are still in place while people get used to the new ones.
Engineers used 500 tons of steel during the upgrade, plus 1,400 tons of concrete and 299,000 sets of paving stones.
Philip Purdy, Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive’s Metrolink Director, said: "We said on April 2 that it would reopen on November 2. The work has been delivered on time."
He added: "I think the tram network and infrastructure enhances the city. We want the tram to be part of the city and not something separate."
Passengers on the Bury line had a glimpse of the future on Friday after drivers began trying out the new Metrolink tram for the first time.
Metrolink bosses have ordered 40 of the yellow M5000 trams, which will cater for passengers on the new lines being built to Oldham and Rochdale, Droylsden, Chorlton and MediaCity.
The city centre section of the track is the most heavily used part of the network, with trams passing over it up to 250 times a day. This is set to increase to 400 times a day when the new lines are added during a £600m expansion project.
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Up and running again, back to normal service waiting 40 minutes to be able to get on one from Crumpsall. Whole service is a joke, should not be extended any further, they xcan"t run the Two lines they have.
"State of the art ticket machines that accept credit cards." Woo hoo! Bet our European neighbours are gnashing their teeth at our cutting edge technology. Yes, it accepts credit cards! Wow! Whatever next? Dishing out change?
The ridiculous thing is that all trams running through the city centre have to use the same line. Could you imagine in London if every tube train running north to south had to converge on the Northern Line only. It wouldn't happen there so why do we putup with it?
Can see where you are coming from Crumpsall-Lass - but where would a second line go?
Maybe Corporation Street - take spur from the line afrom Shude Hill where cross the main road and return down by the side of Urbis where the bus and taxis go?
Another route down Deansgate?
Don't you ever stop wingeing. Try living in an area where trains are only twice an hour and with lower capacity than a tram.
I agree with PB, the system is still an absolute joke.... having to wait 30 mins in a queue to buy a ticket at Whitefield station.
Yep, state of the art... NOT!! Why oh why do they only have one machine working at peak times, with no staff mannning the station to help us poor commuters on a day that there is also a bus strike!! That is the reason they didn't bother to man the station, as they had a captive audience today, people who had no choice but to bear this shoddy treatment! And had we dared to get on the tram without a ticket, they would have then had the audacity to fine us!!
Extremely annoyed and late for work!
S K
Whitefield
somethings never change - and the Metrolink is certainly one of them things!! delays on the 1st day back, 'teething problems' it's ridiculous, how they will cope with extra lines I'll never know!!
you will probably need a credit card for the prices that will be hiked in january!!!
Tigerluc,
The GMPTE website shows a second line as a future extension but doesn't show the route.
tiggerluc: "Can see where you are coming from Crumpsall-Lass - but where would a second line go?"
GMITA's preferred option is:
"connecting to the existing track in the vicinity of Manchester Central complex (formally G-Mex centre) and Victoria Station, and routed via Mount Street, Albert Square, Cross Street and Corporation Street"
More people should start using high powered pogosticks. A great way to get from A to B and with a high pressured spring even to C.
New trams and new ticket machines are a great improvement.
May I once again suggest that in the light of two young ladies collapsing on trams (I have been on) within the last two weeks surely the Metrolink bosses (who are quick enough to shout about their successes) can have a brainwave and provide more double/treble units as the service from Altrincham is not sufficient for its demand. I am not saying every passenger should have a seat but room to breathe at least!!
Try living in an area where the trains were stopped last month and there is a three year wait for the tram.
Now that is a problem that didn't need to be made
As for the second city crossing - will it serve Deansgate and Spinningfields and give some added value? - oh no! It is going along Cross St all of two minutes walk from Lower Mosley St and Market St, because the GMITA believes that it would have to run at street level all the way from Cornbrook to access Deansgate - what's that disused viaduct about 100 yards from Great Northern then - pie in the sky???
PB may I suggest you use the bus instead then if the tram is that bad? Or get a bike but most of all stop moaning :).
Manchester is a far better city thanks to the Metrolink.
Persoanally, when i used to use the tram to work (18 months ago) i thought the service was good. Much better than the bus service....Not sure what everyone's problem is? We should be proud our metrolink service..... Its no London under ground, but we are not London!
Some of the contributors to these pages live on the moon!
How on earth have you totally missed the discussions about the second city centre route that have been going on for the last year or so!
Open your eyes and you may see what the prefered route is!
As freel07 says - maybe those who complain so much may want to consider moving to just about any other non-London city in the UK to experience their transport system for a month or two, they'd soon appreciate what we have then.
Have the limited information screens telling you if a tram is coming been upgraded? Or is the improvement just new shelters and a lick of paint?
Why not just sell tickets in shops that are validated when you get on the tram by a machine?...works all over Europe.
I don't use the met because:
its too dear
its too slow
its too full
its rubbish
it doesnt go anywhere good
from langworthy to town takes ages, its quicker just to walk
Before all the work started, there was a tram every 6 mins on the Altrincham Line, then when the work started, the trams were ever 12 mins but the trams were double carriages
Now the trams are every 12 minutes but a single carriage!!! Surely this is a step backwards
IAn we are paying for a service that you don"t get, if I could get a bus I would. The people who use the Trams daily know what I"m talking about.
I heard that the main reason for the delays was that the new trams are too wide for the existing tracks, so they had to be moved further apart. Is that really true?
Martin Howe - how have the new trams, currently on trial, intended to relieve the congested trams, totally missed your attention!!!
I tell you what, if the people who bleat continually on here bothered opening their eyes they would have a dam site better idea why the issues they moan about exist and what is being done to fix them.
Read up about the new ticket machines that are on the way - how many of them there will be
Read up about what new city centre lines are being looked at
Read up about why we have so little capacity on the existing network
Read up about why the existing trams are so unreliable
Read up about what is being done to fix it
At the moment, these comments pages are an embarressment to those who post the ignorant rubbish.
Instead of wasting your time posting inaccrauet ramblings how about opening your eyes.
The MEN, GMPTE and AGMA web sites are full of explanations and answers to just about every moan and groan on these pages, problem being in 2009 everyone appears to rather moan ignorantly rather than trying to learn something for themselves.
What a horrid society we have become - ignorant moaners.
Its nice here on the Moon Kurt. Thank you to the other members whi have filled me in the second link - I trul didnt know about a second link on the website. And Black Flag - I wasnt too far off my assumpiton/ideas for the second line.
Dont think the new trams were too wide Mike S as of the new track just laid down was for new trams then the old fleet couldnt use them as they would have been too wide. The track is the same guage as current rail way line track is it not?