page_title: Manchester Central railway station
section_title: Light rail
hierarchical_section_title: Manchester Central railway station / Post-railway era / Light rail
caption_attribution_description: Crossing Windmill Street
context_page_description: Manchester Central railway station is a former railway station in Manchester city centre, England. One of Manchester's main railway terminals between 1880 and 1969, it has been converted into an exhibition and conference centre, originally known as G-MEX, but now named Manchester Central. The structure is a Grade II* listed building.
  On 27 March 2020, the UK government announced that the building would be converted into an emergency hospital, intended to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and with 1,000 beds. It is expected to open in mid-April.
context_section_description: The opening, in 1992, of the Metrolink light rail system has seen the conversion of suburban heavy rail lines such as the former Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway to Altrincham and the disused Cheshire Lines Committee route via Didsbury. With the introduction of Metrolink, rail services from south Manchester ran once more to Central Station. However, instead of trains running into the Central Station arch, light rail vehicles now cross the railway viaduct and stop at Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop. They then run down a ramp which runs parallel to Lower Mosley Street, alongside the south-eastern side of the former train shed, before reaching street level where they operate as trams and head towards St Peter's Square.
caption: A Metrolink tram (1992)
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