page_title: History of Manchester Metrolink
section_title: Phase 2CC – Second City Crossing
hierarchical_section_title: History of Manchester Metrolink / Delivery / Phase 2CC – Second City Crossing
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of Manchester City Centre showing the routes of the original Metrolink tram line (1992) and the Second City Crossing (2018)
context_page_description: The history of Manchester Metrolink begins with its conception as Greater Manchester's light rail system in 1982 by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, and spans its inauguration in 1992 and the successive phases of expansion.
context_section_description: The Second City Crossing (also known as 2CC) is the second Metrolink route across Manchester city centre, which opened in 2017. Its 0.8-mile (1.3 km) route begins at St Peter's Square tram stop, and branches off north-west to run along Princess Street and Albert Square, before turning north-east along Cross Street and Corporation Street to rejoin the original Metrolink line just before Victoria station. There is only one stop on the new route, Exchange Square tram stop.
  The Second City Crossing was first proposed in 2011 as a means to improve capacity, flexibility and reliability as the rest of the system expanded due to phases 3a and 3b.  Following the submission of a planning document under the Transport and Works Act 1992, and a public inquiry held throughout 2013, the 2CC route was granted approval on 8 October 2013 by the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, and signed off on 28 October 2013 by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
  Funded by the Greater Manchester Transport Fund, construction started in early 2014 on the new Exchange Square tram stop, and the first tracks of the line were laid in late November 2014. As part of the project, St Peter's Square, Manchester was re-ordered and the Cenotaph was re-sited to accommodate the expanded tram interchange. The northern section of the new route became operational on 6 December 2015, when Exchange Square, along with a 500-metre stretch of track between the new stop and Victoria was opened, meaning a Shaw & Crompton-to-Exchange Square service could begin. The first test tram to run the entire route ran on 1 December 2016, with the first passenger service operating on 26 February 2017.
caption: Phase 2CC created a new line through Manchester city centre (shown in red) to alleviate a bottleneck and to provide a new stop at Exchange Square.
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