INSET: CENTRAL MANCHESTER
I created the above maps by overlaying OpenStreetMap (OSM) maps with my own data. Copyright on the OSM maps is © OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under a CC-BY-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 licence).
Please note that the OSM maps used as templates for these maps correspond to the situation at the time the maps were downloaded and may show features that did not exist at the time the GS Tram Site is supposed to show. In particular, they may show bridges and highways that were built later.
TRAM ROUTES
Operator: The RATP Group, on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)
The route letter designations are for convenience, and are not in use by the operator.
| AB | Altrincham - Bury | Altrincham - Brooklands - Stretford - Old Trafford - Trafford Bar - Cornbrook - Deansgate - Piccadilly Gardens - Victoria Station - Prestwich - Bury |
| AP | Altrincham - Piccadilly | Altrincham - Brooklands - Stretford - Old Trafford - Trafford Bar - Cornbrook - Deansgate - Piccadilly Gardens - Piccadilly Station |
| BE | Bury - Etihad Campus | Bury - Prestwich - Victoria Station - Piccadilly Gardens - Piccadilly Station - Etihad Campus |
| EA | Eccles - Ashton-under-Lyne | Eccles - Salford Quays - Cornbrook - Deansgate - Piccadilly Gardens - Piccadilly Station - Etihad Campus - Droylsden - Ashton-under-Lyne |
| MAC | Manchester Airport - Cornbrook | Manchester Airport - Wythenshawe - Baguley - St Werburgh's Road - Trafford Bar - Cornbrook |
| MP | Media City - Piccadilly Station | Media City UK - Cornbrook - Deansgate - Piccadilly Gardens - Piccadilly Station |
| RED | Rochdale Town Centre - East Didsbury | Rochdale Town Centre - Rochdale Station - Shaw and Crompton - Oldham - Failsworth - Victoria Station - Piccadilly Gardens - Deansgate - Cornbrook - Trafford Bar - St Werburgh's Road - East Didsbury |
NB: The above routes are normal Monday-Saturday services. On Sundays and holidays, only routes AB, EA, MAC and RED operate (EA through Media City UK).
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM
NETWORK LENGTH
- Tramway (Metrolink): 92.5 km.
HISTORY
Tramways
- Horse-powered tramways: 17 May 1877 - 1903.
- Steam-powered tramways: 1882 - 1905.
- First-generation electric tramways: 7 June 1901 - 10 Jan. 1949 (in Bury until Feb. 1949 and in Stockport until 25 Aug. 1951).
- Revived tramway (electric overhead): 20 July 1992 – today.
GAUGE
- Tramways / Metrolink: 1435 mm.
TRAM PRESERVATION
The Museum of Transport , in Smedley, just north of Victoria Station, has a horse-drawn tram, two early electric trams and the prototype Metrolink tram from the early 1990s.
SOURCES
- Bett, W.H. & Gillham, J.C. Great British tramway networks. London: Light Railway Transport League, 1962.
- "MetroLink: Next stop ... Trafford Park", Tramways & Urban Transit, Aug. 2019 (82: 980), p.294-296.
- "Metrolink on the move", Tramways & Urban Transit, July 2008 (71: 847), 24p. supplement.
- Symons, J. & Johnston, H. "Manchester: The 20 year wait for a tram!", Tramways & Urban Transit, July 2002 (65: 775), p.248-252.
- Wilson, A. "A brief history of the Manchester tramways", The Modern Tramway. Nov. 1941 (4: 47), p.124-125. and Dec. 1941 (4: 48), p.140-141.
- Pulling, N. "Systems Factfile Special: Metrolink, Manchester, UK", Tramways & Urban Transit, July 2011 (74: 883), p.263-268.
- Pulling, N. "Systems Factfile No. 165: Manchester, United Kingdom", Tramways & Urban Transit, July 2021 (84: 1003), p.284-289.
- Yearsley, I. The Manchester tram. Huddersfield: The Advertiser Press,1962.
- Young, A.P. "Britain's first new generation tramway", Light Rail & Modern Tramway, July 1992 (55: 655), p.173-179.
WIKIS
- Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive
- History of Manchester Metrolink
- Manchester Corporation Tramways
- Manchester Metrolink
- Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester
WEB SITES
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