subject: Manchester Airport Metrolink [print this page] Manchester Airport Metrolink Manchester Airport Metrolink
Manchester's Metrolink network is one of the most successful light rail systems in Europe, delivering about 20m customers each year.
There are three lines which travel between Bury, Altrincham and Eccles into Manchester city centre. The Bury and Altrincham lines opened in 1992 followed by the Eccles line in 2000 creating a network of 37 stops covering 37 km (23 miles). A crew of 32 trams serviced the existing network until December 2009 when the first of the new trams were launched.
In May 2009, a special fund of 1.5 billion was agreed for fifteen transport schemes in Greater Manchester including an additional line to run from Chorlton to Manchester Airport.
Design and advance work began in 2010. This work included extensive surveys, detailed designs and the development of a programme for diverting utilities pipes and cables.
The original 520m expansion of Metrolink was first announced back in 2000 and dubbed the Big Bang on account of the magnitude of the work. But the plan hit the buffers in 2004 when the Government withdrew over mounting costs, prompting anger across Greater Manchester and the start of the Back on Track campaign.
In 2008, the Government confirmed it would pay a one off amount of 244m for a smaller Mini Bang' expansion to Rochdale railway station, Chorlton and Droylsden. Then, later that year, the full Big Bang' expansion was made a condition of the congestion charge, which was famously thrown out in a referendum.
Trams will run along a converted former railway for the 3km of the route from Trafford Bar to Chorlton. It will give customers unrivaled accessibility by high quality public transport with connections to the national rail network at Piccadilly and at Manchester Airport.
Within Manchester Airport, Metrolink will serve the Transport Interchange which is being constructed at the existing railway station with easy access to bus, coach and rail services as well as the moving walkway linking Terminals One and Two.
Metrolink will also supply a big shot in the arm to economic regeneration in those areas where the line is planned. Extending Metrolink to Manchester Airport will boost the job prospects at Manchester Airport for the citizens of Wythenshawe, Chorlton and Trafford by making it more accessible to people without cars. It is assumed that the new line will carry about eight million passengers each year. A lot of these trips would otherwise be made by car.
Customers services to Manchester Airport are beginning in 2016. The new line will provide safe, reliable and convenient access to Manchester and Manchester Airport. The Airport extension is part of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority's commitment to improving public transport throughout the country.
