Manchester Metrolink

**Manchester Metrolink** (or usually just ** Metrolink**) is the name of the tram system in Greater Manchester, England. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), which used to be called the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive. It is operated under contract by KeolisAmey Metrolink.

## History

The construction of Manchester's railway network in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries created many termini around the City Centre, which were not connected. This left large areas of Manchester disconnected from the railway network.

For many years, there were plans to connect Manchester's two main railway stations: Piccadilly and Victoria. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a plan for a "Picc-Vic tunnel" was proposed to carry main-line trains under the city centre. However, the project was abandoned due to high costs.

Metrolink was later created by converting two British Rail lines—one to Altrincham (south) and another to Bury (north)—into a light rail system. These lines were linked through the city centre, where trams run on the streets, and included a short branch to Piccadilly railway station. This first section of the system opened in 1992, and a line to Eccles followed in 2001.

Numerous extensions have since opened, with more being built or proposed. Metrolink now serves Didsbury, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham, Rochdale, MediaCityUK, and Manchester Airport. These expansions increased the system’s length from 37 km to 97 km with 99 stops.

In 2017, a second city centre route opened, serving Exchange Square, followed by a new line to the Trafford Centre shopping mall. Plans are also in place for tram-train lines to Stockport and other locations in Greater Manchester. By 2040, the network is expected to double in size.

### Lines and stops

|Colour|Route|Operating hours||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|style="background:#28AA3B; color:black; text-align:center;"||Altrincham– Bury via Market Street|Mon–Sat daytime|
|rowspan="2" style="background:#7B2082; color:white; text-align:center;"||Altrincham– Piccadilly|Mon–Sun allday|
|Altrincham– Etihad Campus via Piccadilly||||
|style="background:#59C6F2; color:black; text-align:center;"||Ashton-under-Lyne– Eccles _(via_ _MediaCityUK)_|Mon–Sun allday|
|style="background:#F18800; color:black; text-align:center;"||Etihad Campus– MediaCityUK via Piccadilly|Mon–Sat daytime|
|style="background:#EFBB00; color:black; text-align:center;"||Bury–Piccadilly|Mon–Sun allday|
|style="background:#FE79B0; color:black; text-align:center;"||East Didsbury– Rochdale Town Centre via Exchange Square and Oldham|Mon–Sun allday|
|style="background:#827846; color:white; text-align:center;"||East Didsbury– Shaw and Crompton via Exchange Square|Mon–Sat daytime|
|style="background:#E70310; color:white; text-align:center;"||The Trafford Centre– Deansgate-Castlefield|Mon–Sun allday|
|style="background:#0069B4; color:white; text-align:center;"||Manchester Airport– Victoria via Market Street|Mon–Sun allday|

## Infobox (public transit)

- **box width**: 340px
- **name**: Metrolink
- **image2**: Greater Manchester Metrolink - tram 3009A.jpg
- **imagesize2**: 300px
- **caption2**: Bombardier M5000 at Exchange Quay tram stop in August 2011
- **image3**: Manchester Metrolink - Schemaplan.png
- **imagesize3**: 335px
- **caption3**: Schematic map of Metrolink
- **locale**: Greater Manchester
- **transit type**: Tram/Light rail
- **lines**: 8
- **stations**: 99
- **headquarters**: Metrolink Trafford Depot
Warwick Road South
Stretford
Manchester
M16 0GZ
- **owner**: Transport for Greater Manchester
- **operator**: KeolisAmey Metrolink
- **vehicles**: 147 Bombardier M5000
- **el**: overhead line
- **area served**: Greater Manchester - (Bury, Rochdale, Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Salford, Altrincham, Stockport (Limited)