METROLINK CLOSES THREE LINES FOR TWO WEEKS

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says engineering work will close three Metrolink lines from Monday, 19 October, until the start of service on 2 November. No trams will run on the Altrincham, Trafford Centre or Eccles lines during the two-week closure. TfGM says Deansgate-Castlefield, Cornbrook and Trafford Bar stations will also close. Trams serving East Didsbury and Manchester Airport will terminate at Firswood, while Rochdale services will terminate at Exchange Square. Replacement buses will operate, and TfGM advises passengers to check their journeys.

The work forms part of a £150m track upgrade between Trafford Bar, Cornbrook and Deansgate-Castlefield. TfGM says trams pass through the affected stretch every 30 seconds for 20 hours a day. It says the work will allow it to lift further speed restrictions and make journeys “quicker and more reliable”. The Eccles, Trafford Centre and Altrincham lines also closed for three weeks during the summer, when workers replaced a section of 30-year-old track near Trafford Bar. Passengers complained that some journeys during that closure took up to two and a half hours.

TfGM says replacement buses will omit more than a dozen stops across the three lines this time. Manchester United supporters travelling to Old Trafford for the Bournemouth match on 25 October, and Manchester City supporters travelling to Etihad Stadium for three scheduled matches, have been advised to check TfGM’s website. City are due to host AEK Athens on Tuesday and Brighton on 28 and 31 October. TfGM says minor route changes through Manchester city centre will continue until 4 November after trams resume. It also plans a further weekend closure at Trafford Bar and Deansgate-Castlefield on 14 and 15 November for follow-up work.