Transport in Manchester - Tram - Metrolink

Metrolink

Manchester has a light rail system called Metrolink. Operated by Stagecoach, Metrolink links the city centre to Altrincham, Eccles and Bury. It is a high-frequency service, with trams running every 6–12 minutes. It carries nearly 20 million passengers each year.

Trams first appeared on the streets of Manchester in 1877 and by 1901 were taken over and electrified by Manchester Corporation Tramways. The system grew to the third largest in the UK but was abandoned in 1949. Proposals for a light rail system in the city grew from a 1970s proposal by SELNEC to build three rapid transit lines. This idea was superseded by the Picc-Vic project but light-rail was resurrected again in the 1980s; it was these proposals which led the birth of the Metrolink, the first routes of which were opened in 1992.

Plans to extend Metrolink were reinstated after an election-time u-turn by the Labour Government which had rejected the plans months earlier, despite years of support. The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE), responsible for public transport in Greater Manchester, led the fight to ensure that the extensions be built, with significant support from local councils and communities and Manchester City Council. In July 2006 the government announced a major extension to the Metrolink system, which is intended to form the first phase of the so-called 'big bang' expansion. If the eventual desired system is completed, passenger numbers are predicted to more than double to an estimated 50 million per year.

Since the initial approval of the system from the public, local and national government, and environmental groups, Metrolink has become something of a victim of its own popularity. Many routes are extremely busy, especially at peak times, and prices have risen at far above the rate of inflation. The network has also gained reputation for being unreliable. In 2011, Stagecoach Manchester who operated the Metrolink under contract from TfGM, relinquished duties giving no apparent reason with French consortium, RATP Group taking over duties.