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Metrolink - Proposals

10M views 52K replies 763 participants last post by  Little Spoon 
#1 · (Edited)
In order to seperate progress on the extensions from other chat about Metrolink, am kicking off this new thread with some images of the work on the Chorlton branch which I've brazenly borrowed from some nice chap on flickr (called Andrew L. Roberts - bravo to you fella, :cheers: very well taken and informative piccies! This first one has Wilbraham Road Bridge in the background:



Looking north from Ayres Road Bridge:



Looking south from Ayres Road Bridge:


Anyone got any more???
 
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#82 ·
#83 ·
HAving spent well over 1month as an in patient there, when my wife was visiting at least one a day by tram, for the majority of people it is fine, it is an equally long walk inside the hospital as outside regularly.

Does not matter though, no room at the end of Stott Lane mean it would not be possible anyway.
 
#84 ·
HAving spent well over 1month as an in patient there, when my wife was visiting at least one a day by tram, for the majority of people it is fine, it is an equally long walk inside the hospital as outside regularly.

Does not matter though, no room at the end of Stott Lane mean it would not be possible anyway.
Sorry M€tr0l1nk, my previous post didn't have a few things in that I'd meant to put in - my youngest was climbing all over my chair after showing him the pics of the trams on the low loaders - I was a bit distracted.

I wasn't disagreeing about there not being enough room @ the end or on Stott Lane - I should have made that clear.

I'd put the "offical" time up to just say I would imagine that it would make a lot of those people who had cars use them instead of taking the tram,
especially as you say - it's such a big hospital it can take a while to get where you need to be.

I was in Hope for many months and this was when I still live in Blackpool, my then girlfriend and now wife had to use the train and then bus as this was pre Metrolink days.

We were both lucky to have someone to take what ever it took to come and visit us :).



I
 
#85 ·
"Construction work to start on new Metrolink line

The first stages of work to build the new Metrolink line to Central Park will get underway next month."
Published on 22/05/09

http://www.gmpte.com/content.cfm?subcategory_id=103073&news_id=6114975



"Drop in to catch up on South Manchester's Metrolink line

Work on the new Metrolink line to Chorlton is continuing apace - and people are being encouraged to find out just what is happening in their area."
Published on 22/05/09

http://www.gmpte.com/content.cfm?subcategory_id=103073&news_id=6114971
 
#86 ·
#87 ·
Crains.

East Manchester tram work starts at weekend
By Simon Binns


Work on the new Metrolink line through East Manchester will begin next weekend, in the Holt Town area, as utilities are diverted to pave the way for construction work later this summer.

The Greater Manchester Passanger Executive (GMPTE) is overseeing the £600m project to bring new tram lines to Droylsden, Oldham and Rochdale, Chorlton in South Manchester and Media City in Salford. The initial diversion work will involve laying ducts across Every Street, Ashton New Road and Holt Town over four weekends. A temporary traffic light system will be put in place as a result.

Construction work is already underway to create an underpass at Great Ancoats Street and utility diversions are being carried out on Pollard Street, Carruthers Street and Merrill Street.

"Construction work on the new line is really beginning to build up a head of steam and people are going to start to see a lot of activity all along the route in coming months,” said Philip Purdy, GMPTE’s Metrolink Director.

“Weekend utility work will be starting in Holt Town soon and we will be building the foundations of the area’s new Metrolink stop and tram track later this summer.”

Drop-in events to allow residents to find out more about the works will be held at St Cross Church Parish Centre on Wednesday June 3 from 5.30pm to 7.30pm; and St Anne’s Primary School in East Manchester, on Tuesday June 9, from 5pm to 8pm.

As the utility work progresses, Beswick Street will be closed to southbound traffic from Ashton New Road to Pollard Street East. This is expected to take place from mid June for up to four months. GMPTE is working with Manchester City Council to finalise the details.

Heavy duty concrete piling rigs will start to arrive in late June to create the foundations of the new Metrolink stop. This will involve work in the Ashton New Road, Holt Town and Cambrian Street area.

Once the new line is complete, trams will run from Piccadilly to Droylsden every six minutes.
 
#88 · (Edited)
Very interesting stuff Linky, well found! Feels like it's all coming to a head at last when you see stuff like that.

Be in Manc early June so I'll definitely go on a recce of all lines to take more photo's

Here's a great recent photo of Mauldeth Road bridge taken by fellow SSCer Andy:



Be quite amazing to see Metrolink vehicles finally pounding through there in a few years time!

Also can't wait to see them lay the tracks thru Central Park (photo taken by meself in wait for it... June 2007!!!) Be so great see this first class structure being put to use it was intended.


And here from the other side:


I predict that when the new trammy-trams are up and running thru, this station will be an absolute icon of what a modern LRT scheme can be.
 
#89 ·
#90 · (Edited)
Also can't wait to see them lay the tracks thru Central Park (photo taken by meself in wait for it... June 2007!!!) Be so great see this first class structure being put to use it was intended.
Wow, that's great.

I was investigating the route of the lines on google earth and was amazed to see signs of tunnelling etc. around COMS even though the picture says 2003. If that's accurate, it shows amazing vision and forward planning (for England). Build it and they shall come...

I'm enjoying seeing the tram network in Manchester going from strength to strength. I really wish the network here in Sheffield could push on to the next level. Unfortunately you can't even get to the Sheffield Hallam University/ Station tram stop nowadays, as East Midlands Trains have stopped all use of the pedestrian bridge except for rail ticket holders. :bash:
 
#91 ·
Wow, that's great.

...It shows amazing vision and forward planning (for England). Build it and they shall come...

I'm enjoying seeing the tram network in Manchester going from strength to strength. I really wish the network here in Sheffield could push on to the next level. Unfortunately you can't even get to the Sheffield Hallam University/ Station tram stop nowadays, as East Midlands Trains have stopped all use of the pedestrian bridge except for rail ticket holders. :bash:
I agree wholeheartedly with Soupçon, the 100plus km of tram lines in Greater Manchester will be a real beacon for other UK provincial conurbations.

It's an absolute disgrace and national embarrassment that cities the size of Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and Leicester for example have no urban rail whatsoever. Birmingham's one single tram line in a conurbation of 2.5 million is just lamentable (no offence intended to Brummies, it aint their fault). Sheffield and Nottingham systems also need massive expansion.

Well trod forumers will recall that many others including me have been harping on for years on here and elsewhere about why the UK cities outside London desperately need massive investment in light rail (and dare I say it a few underground lines too!).

It's absurd that all there is are buses or suburban heavy rail (which is also woefully inadequate in most cities outside Brum, L'pool, G'gow, Leeds and Manch).

Just take a look at any comparable city to those named above on mainland Europe and you'll be stunned to see how incredibly good urban rail is in provincial cities across the continent (with admittedly a few notable exceptions like Poland).

I cite: Barcelona/Hamburg/Lyon/Munich/Milan/Marseilles/Rotterdam/Lille/Cologne/Bilbao/Rhine-Rhur/Toulouse/Frankfurt/Valencia/Porto/Stuttgart.....errrr shall I go on?

None is a capital city, all are comparable to UK's major conurbations...all have tram/light-rail/Metro in abundance...and are mostly building more.

For shame Britain. Bravo GMPTE for bucking the trend. Lets pray the shining example of ManicChestHair encourages more.

The only provincial British city that can even faintly hold its head above the parapet is Newcastle. The Tyne&Wear PTE deserving a bloody Gold Medal IMHO for pulling off the Metro in the face of adversity during the same epoch that Manch lost Picc-Vic.

Said it before and I'll say it again; why the f*** are we not more ANGRY about this? Forget MPs Expenses, get out there and force decent investment in public transport!

* Its environmentally friendly
* Provides jobs
* Boots the economy

(Mark puts soap box away, wipes away steam coming from ears and goes to sit in the corner with a nice pint of red wine :cheers:)
 
#94 ·
Ticket barrier

Sleuth was chatting to the Metrolink Director, Philip Purdy, this week about the system. Sleuth keeps being caught out by the ticket machines at the stations which were designed by evil pixies and refuse to work with normal British sterling. It’s fun to watch people licking their coins and using all sorts of magic processes to make the coins heavy enough to work. The note readers are the most evil feature, you have to iron your fivers and tenners to make them smart enough to be accepted. Sleuth learnt from Purdy that in September the old machines will start to be replaced by new ones, not designed in the Middle Ages, and with card readers. By Christmas all the old ones will be gone. Good news thinks Sleuth.

Ticket machine bashing

Sleuth had a suggestion for Mr Purdy. He suggested that Metrolink throw a party. “Given all the grief people have suffered at the hands of these machines, all the fines they’ve had to pay when they nipped onto the tram without a ticket because of these idiotic things, why not do this: make a big pile of them in a park somewhere and ceremonially smash them to pieces whilst a crowd of Metrolink passengers stand by, applauding and cheering? Metrolink Director, Philip Purdy, looked at Sleuth and smiled and thought. Then he looked at the press officer in the room and said: “that’s an interesting thought. That’s certainly something to look into.” Sleuth’s going to start a campaign to make it happen.

Inspectors inspected

The full interview with Philip Purdy, the Metrolink Director, and a plain-speaking Aussie, is published on Confidential next Wednesday and covers the city centre works, the ticket charges, the expansion plans and also the behaviour of Inspectors. Asked, “are you happy with the Inspector’s attitude to customers?” Purdy replied, “No, I am not. They need to be far more customer focussed.” Sleuth applauds the answer, that level of self-awareness is reassuring and one of several positive developments outlined in the forthcoming interview.





More Metrolink

By the way this is how the new trams will look. Sleuth is pleased that Metrolink is going for a strong Manchester Confidential yellow. Sleuth also wonders who that red haired lady is there, she looks familiar.
http://www.manchesterconfidential.c...NwTrIWU6IHqjNwB6IA&realname=Sleuth 29/05/2009
 
#95 ·
My mate who lives in Newton Heath would much prefer Dean Lane to be renamed 'Newton Heath' once open - and I think giving as many of the stations as possible proper geographic-linked names would be a good move, reinforcing in peoples minds all the different areas you'll be able to get to on the Metrolink (ie. a lot of people will have heard of/know where Newton Heath is, whereas Dean Lane means less to people, i'd have thought)

Just a random thought anyway :)
 
#96 ·
Station re-namings

... a lot of people will have heard of/know where Newton Heath is, whereas Dean Lane means less to people, i'd have thought. :)
Good point Henry^^

There's a few others that need some discussion too:
Isn't the stop due to be called Monsall actually in Collyhurst?

St. Werburgs Road doesnt seem to bright either; the stop is right at one end of the road and it's doesn't exactly trip off the tongue, especially as it's gonna be a much quoted terminus for a while - wouldn't it be better as Chorlton Park or a more exotic sounding Thirlmere Aqueduct?


I also like the idea of comedy names:
Wrigley Head takes the biscuit. Should stay exactly as is proposed! (In fact the whole line is going to make some interesting potential loudspeaker announcements... including Wet Rake, Derker, Mumps, and Butler Green...no offence to anyone who lives in them there areas, but you gotta see the potentially amusing side of it!

Vicky Pollard Street still raises a smile.

Eccles to be renamed "Eccles Lardy Barm Cake" (sure HeatonParkinCakes would approve).

The stop planned in between Bury and Radcliffe would undoubtedly be better known as Elton's Pond (after the reservoir of course) - or even "Warth"!

And surely one of the stations that are due to pass thru Wythenshawe should be renamed "Chatsworth" after it's notoriety in 'Shameless'
:lol:
 
#100 ·
My mate who lives in Newton Heath would much prefer Dean Lane to be renamed 'Newton Heath' once open - and I think giving as many of the stations as possible proper geographic-linked names would be a good move, reinforcing in peoples minds all the different areas you'll be able to get to on the Metrolink (ie. a lot of people will have heard of/know where Newton Heath is, whereas Dean Lane means less to people, i'd have thought)

Just a random thought anyway :)
They did this with Old Trafford. The Old Trafford now used to be called Warwick Road and the Trafford Bar now used to be called Old Trafford. On match and cricket days people were getting off at the old Old Trafford so were further away. If they have done it before i am sure they can do it again.
 
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