THE future is lemon for commuters on the tram network as the first of a fleet of new carriages arrived for service.

Transport chiefs are finally taking delivery of the new-look Metrolink trams that will ferry commuters around Didsbury and Chorlton and connect them with the rest of the Metrolink grid.

The M5000 units, which cost £2m each, were ordered two years ago. The first was shipped over from Europe, last weekend, before being transported by road from Hull, with a police escort, to the Queens Road depot in Cheetham.

Metrolink bosses have ordered a total of 40 vehicles which are expected to arrive at a rate of one a month. They will ease overcrowding on busy lines, which reached crisis levels in 2005, while meeting the demand that new stations at Chorlton, Salford, Droylsden, Oldham and Rochdale will create.

The M5000 model is already in use elsewhere in Europe and should be up running by the end of the year.

The Metrolink system first opened in Manchester in the early nineties. At the time, the white and turquoise vehicles were state-of-the-art, but in the years since they have dated.

The new tram’s yellow colour theme has also been used for the interior, while full-length glass double doors give it a lighter and brighter feel.

Councillor Keith Whitmore said: "This is a fantastic day for Metrolink and its thousands of passengers. Our trams have become an icon of Manchester – and this new generation will ensure that legacy continues – but this new tram is also a symbol of a very bright future for Metrolink.

"People already make around 20million journeys on our trams each year but we’re currently building four new lines that will double the size of the network by 2012.

"Metrolink is only going to keep growing and these new trams will ensure that, when it does, we can continue to provide high quality services fit for the 21st century."

Philip Purdy, GMPTE’s Metrolink Director, said: "We’ve been looking forward to this day and following the tram’s new progress very closely. I am really pleased with the result.

"The tram will now undergo extensive operational and safety tests and well also have to train people how to drive it. The tests will go on through the summer and the autumn before the tram goes into service.

"I hope to see it up and running towards the end of the year and I am certain people will be delighted with it when it does."

The new Chorlton line, funded by Transport Infrastructure cash, will link with the Altrincham line near Trafford Bar. It will stop at stations in Firswood, central Chorlton and St Werbergh’s Road – which will be named Chorlton High. A depot is being created on a triangle of land near Trafford Bar that is bordered by Elsinore Road, Ayres Road and a disused railway line.

The creation of two tramline extensions – to Didsbury and the airport – was given the go ahead in May as part of a £1.5billion public transport funding investment.

The move was finally given the green light by the government following the collapse of plans, due to the overwhelming ‘no’ vote in the congestion charge referendum last December.

Plans to create a tramline to Didsbury and on to Stockport date back 30 years, when Old Moat councillor Andrew Fender negotiated with British Rail to buy a swathe of land from Cornbrook – near the Salford end of the Mancunian Way – through Chorlton and Didsbury and on towards Stockport.

It was bought for the sum of £1 as the council then took on the costs to renovate dilapidated bridges and fencing.

Work on the project could begin as soon as September and lines to Didsbury and the airport could open in 2013.

Coun Whitmore said: "The new lines are being discussed by the ten local authorities so dates have not been finalised yet."

Timeline to tramlines: How the spurs will be built

• Summer 2009: Work will begin laying the lines which will link Chorlton to the Altrincham to Bury line at Traford bar.
• Late summer 2009: Work will begin to create walls to line the new tram tracks at Trafford Bar
• Autumn 2009: Work begins to create three new stops for the new line at Chorlton Morrisons, St Werburgh’s Road (to be known as Chorlton High) and in Firswood.
• Late summer 2009: Work is earmarked to start the next phase of creating a line to Didsbury and another to the airport, beginning with the railway lines that will carry it for part of the route.
• Spring 2010: Tramline verges will be landscaped, CTTV cameras installed to monitor the lines and stations and the tram stops will be decorated
• Late autumn 2010: Trams will start to be tested on the new Chorlton line
• Early spring 2011: The Chorlton line will open with six trams carrying commuters to Piccadilly every hour.
• 2013: The two other lines - one linking Didsbury with Chorlton and the rest of the Metrolink network and one running to Manchester Airport - are expected to open.

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