Manchester Metrolink

Manchester Metrolink

Radcliffe Whitefield Oldham Mumps Besses o'th' Barn Freehold Prestwich South Chadderton Heaton Park Hollinwood Bowker Vale Failsworth Crumpsall Newton Heath and Moston Abraham Moss Central Park Woodlands Road Monsall City Zone Victoria Shudehill Market Street Piccadilly Gardens Mosley Street Piccadilly St Peter's Square Deansgate-Castlefield Cornbrook St Werburgh's Road Chorlton Firswood Trafford Bar Pomona Exchange Quay Old Trafford Salford Quays Stretford Anchorage Dane Road Harbour City Sale MediaCityUK Brooklands Broadway Timperley Langworthy Navigation Road Weaste Altrincham Ladywell Eccles ( Eccles) This route map:

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Metrolink, also known as Manchester Metrolink, is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network consists of five lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles, Oldham and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and operated under contract by RATP Group.

The Metrolink began operation on 6 April 1992 with a service between Manchester Victoria and Bury. Metrolink trams run on-street in Manchester city centre and Eccles (and will, for almost all of the Ashton Line), but most of the routes in the suburbs use former heavy rail lines and are therefore segregated from street traffic. The result of conversion from former railway lines is that Metrolink stops require high (rail) platforms, even on street running sections; which adds considerably to the costs of new projects.

The tram system is currently undergoing major expansion with four new lines under construction to be completed by the latest 2016 (construction is well underway on all new lines as of 2012). In 2008 work on new Metrolink lines began, beginning the extension of the system to Chorlton, East Didsbury, Ashton-under-Lyne, Rochdale, Sportcity, MediaCityUK and Manchester Airport. Services to MediaCityUK started in 2010, while services to Chorlton started in 2011 and to Oldham Mumps in 2012. Services to the Etihad Stadium and Manchester Velodrome are expected to operate by the end of 2012.

Further potential extensions include lines to Stockport and the Trafford Centre and a second city crossing planned in central Manchester (the "City Zone") to ease congestion between Piccadilly and Victoria. Once completed, the extensions will increase the system's length from 37 to 97 kilometres (23 to 60 mi) with at least 105 stops and on completion, Greater Manchester will have the largest tram network in the United Kingdom with a daily ridership of approximately 190,000.