Metrolink services remain halted on the new spur to MediaCityUK – nine days after a tram crashed into a lamp post.
Rush-hour commuters faced major delays after the accident on the Eccles line on Tuesday last week.
It came a day after the opening of the new spur connecting the Eccles line to the multi-million-pound complex at Salford Quays, where the BBC will make its new home in the north.
Bosses at the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive say an ‘operational review’ is being carried out before services can continue.
The Eccles line reopened the next day. Work on overhead lines was completed at the weekend.
Philip Purdy, GMPTE Metrolink director, said: “We are working with our operator Stagecoach Metrolink to restore the MediaCityUK service as soon as possible.
“Repairs to the overhead line equipment were successfully completed over the weekend.
“Following the incident on Tuesday, which is still under investigation, a thorough operational review is now being carried out before the service can resume.
“The Eccles line service has been running as normal since Wednesday morning.
“But we apologise for any inconvenience the suspension of the MediaCityUK service has caused.” The line was halted after the incident near the Harbour City stop at around 5.30pm.
Around 40 people were on board at the time of the incident. Some of them had to be helped from the tram but there were no reported injuries.
Early suggestions were that the points may have failed. The Altrincham and Bury lines were unaffected.
One passenger, Paul Holliday, told the M.E.N. the tram had been reversing when it crashed into the post.
He said: “I’m a bit shaken up. There were a couple of gasps when it happened and people looked a bit disturbed but everyone seemed in good spirits.”
Shadow chancellor Alistair Darling visited MediaCityUK this week and hailed it as one of the most important developments in the region.
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is this the sign of things to come when chorltons line opens soon.Media city is meant to be a major commercial site so why cant line be running sooner.and the congestion charge morons said this is the future of public transport..the altrincham line more often than not seems to have a replacement bus service due to technical problems.links to victoria seem to breakdown often ,but the bus still runs.Manchesters buisness can not rely on this kind of service and the only alternative seems to be the car,is it not about time that city centre roads are opened up properly again to car users so that this great city can get back to work.and before con charge brigade start roads are no where near as busy as they used to be .i have lived on a major road into city for 40 years,that has been turned into a single lane +cycle lane and traffic still flows when once it would not(talbot road).
How on earth did that happen? Find out if the consultants placed it in the wrong place or if the contractor moved it because it was easier then sue them for the disruption. This is simple stuff, trams have fixed routes, a quick CAD model would show you where you can and cant place a column.
The tram didn't, 'crash into a lamppost', it derailed! What kind of idiot would build a lamppost between tram tracks?
SURPRISE SURPRISE! I dont think i have read anything positive about the tram system since it opened. Its absurd
DJC- the lampost as you described it - was not a 'lamp post' it was the post that holds up the electic lines that make the trams move. So it was the same idiot that put the posts in the middle that current run the full length of the Metro system as it stands now. I am led to believe it was a points failure and the tram jumping the track,.
I just hope the underlying fault is fixed before any tram is allowed to run safely and it never happens again.
I'm sorry but today's news is cancelled. The newsreader is stuck on a derailed tram. The standy-by newsreader is stuck in traffic.
Thats Modern transport for you just wait until the ashton trams are running..then youll see fun.
From what I have seen, the Points weren't faulty. They were spring operated and worked exactly as spring operated points are intended to work.
I believe the cause of the derailment was as a result of the fact the branch opened before the automatic signalling was ready and they were using operating measures (manual operation and spring points) which were not appropriate for a high frequency tram line with 12tph operating onto it..