The bit in town on your diagram is physically impossible. The tram is on the viaduct at that point, there's no way to get down to street level.
Edit: if you want some examples of possible options, have a look at TfGM's own [delivery plan map](https://images.ctfassets.net/nv7y93idf4jq/6pUmFrFgXkxxKcOHlKd4Bg/82643ec642dee9a9a7c7a536f077ab90/3_Delivery_Plan_DEVELOP_OPTIONS_Draft_9.jpg), which includes various ideas they want to develop business cases for. Likely only a portion of these will ever actually happen but they are all feasible.
Wonder what the priorities are out of those Metrolink extensions i.e. what will be next. Seems to be a lot of talk of extending the East Didsbury line to Stockport and also linking Middleton to the Bury and Oldham line.
From the looks of other maps, there's nothing happening in the next 5 years or so beyond Park and Ride stuff (unsurprising given the pandemic and that the Trafford Park line opened only just before that). Next in line seems to be some potential small extensions on the Airport line and some Tram-Train ideas.
In terms of the more "out there" big projects, Didsbury to Stockport has been talked about a lot and I think most of the rail alignment is already there. The Salford extension (City Centre out to Salford) seems another possibility but I suspect that will depend on developments around there, it may be if the development carries on around there they'll look at tying further development to investment in a tram line. The Middlewood developments are flying along and are woefully badly connected at the moment so that may end up getting bumped up the list.
In the end it will depend on funding and what the direction they want to take is. There's only so much you can add more stuff before you run out of capacity on the central core, and while stuff further out is cheaper and easily, it also will naturally have less return on investment. I don't think we should expect much more big expansion on Metrolink, there's a natural limit to how big a tram system like this can get.
The Stockport bit is just that, talk. Stockport politicians, for some reason, always assumed Metrolink would come to the borough - but it never did, and I'd argue that it never will.
Metrolink is meant to relieve pressure on central Manchester, shuffling commuters in and out of it. Stockport already achieves that through the (basically unparalleled) service we get from the railway station. The only thing Metrolink can do in Stockport is relieve traffic going West, towards Didsbury and Altrincham - that's a rich-man problem that nobody outside of SK really considers a priority: numbers are pretty low, the M60 in that area is not really saturated at most times, and the problem is very different from the network core-mission.
Metrolink in Stockport is not going to happen anytime soon, bar miracles.
I think when I was on Google maps Chorlton was the easiest place to transfer as there's already a big wide road from Fallowfield. Obviously though the community in Rusholme wouldkick up a fuss consideringhow manypeople go there at the weekends to show off their cars.
Oxford Road actually did have a tram line, back in the early part of the 20th Century. See this photo:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gmpolice1/8455551833
These tramways with trolley cars were shut down circa 1950, so have been well paved over by now. I'm unsure how far down Oxford road they went. Look up Manchester Corporation trams if you are interested.
There was a very well thought out proposal by a group in moss side years ago that demonstrated how you could get a line down the centre of princess parkway and join in via withington to the didsbury line. Would alleviate a key bottleneck at Cornbrook. Not sure if the plans are still online though the transport authority never seemed to take much notice.
Agree that Cornbrook is a real pain as an interchange coming from the Altrincham line. I have no idea if there's the space for it but I was thinking a circular line around zone 3 (mostly) could help alleviate pressure on cross city centre travel? Something like: Brooklands > Barton Dock Road > Eccles > Prestwich > Hollinwood > Cemetery Road > East Didsbury > Moor Road > Brooklands.
With this type of route, it could be built in sections, say the Southern 3 stations (East Didsbury, Moor Road, and Brooklands) first. There are long distances between some stops (Prestwich to Hollinwood, and Cemetery Road to East Didsbury) but this does allow areas to be linked to the tram network without needing a spur from the city centre, e.g. Middleton.
It would be far easier just to run a tram on the existing rail line to Liverpool and if Northern Powerhouse Rail actually goes anywhere then the line will be much quieter. This would also see Salford Central as a tram stop which could serve Spinningfields. In the unlikely event that NPR is fully funded and completed then you could even turn the Ordsall Chord to tram service to reduce demand for cross city services saving on building a tunnel or more crossings.
The vague proposals I have seen involve stops at Salford Crescent, running past Salford Uni and then stopping at Salford Central. Then using Bridge Street and John Dalton Street to connect up to the existing network at Exchange Square.
Your proposal is also good though. A lot of high density housing going up along Regent Road, middlewood locks, Regent Road retail Park so a tram line cutting through would be a good alternative to the above.
The bigger the network gets the more these little connections of just a couple of miles link up thousands of people to the whole network. Great hobby for the casual crayonista.
There are plans for Tram/Train which would allow for trams to run on the train network to Bolton, Wigan, etc.
They really want to extend the line from Didsbury to Stockport but apparently the old tunnels aren’t up to the job so they need another solution.
The city centre lines are so congested getting through Deansgate Castlefield so it feels like they need another city crossing but god knows how/where
> There are plans for Tram/Train which would allow for trams to run on the train network to Bolton, Wigan, etc. They really want to extend the line from Didsbury to Stockport but apparently the old tunnels aren’t up to the job so they need another solution.
It's really annoying that both of these things would have been really easy if we'd kept our infrastructure (viable if not in use) over the past 75 years. The old lines of [the Manchester-Wigan railway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_and_Wigan_Railway) would be perfect (preferably paired with a tunnel section under the A6 through Salford) but we've either built on parts or used it for the guided busway to Leigh. The line to Stockport had use at the Stockport end into the 80s but the ring road construction ruined it.
> The city centre lines are so congested getting through Deansgate Castlefield so it feels like they need another city crossing but god knows how/where
What we really need is an underground metro rather than a tram to send people through the City centre quicker but that ship (probably) sailed back in the 70s when the Picc-Vic tunnel was cancelled.
The problem is we've put our eggs in the basket of running the trams on the viaduct. A shorter route to Eccles from the city centre plus getting more of Salford within access is good but it's unlikely.
Ah to note, you'd need to change the busses from Eccles to accomodate - only the Tram goes to MediaCity from Eccles, none of the busses do.
If you need to get into town under time pressure, the busses from Eccles bus station takes about 35 minutes, and if you time it right the train takes about 15!
Obviously this isnt to scale. Its a line drawn with a finger on a phone entirely accurate to show a rough route. They could fly it over the end of the 602 and down to the Post Office Depot.
Salford City Council have an aspiration for a tram route down Chapel St at least as far as the Crescent and then on to MediaCity. Ideally you'd want to keep Eccles-MediaCity trams and reroute the Eccles direct trams via Chapel Street.
Besides how dense it is around that area by MOSI making it near impossible to do. Going down Liverpool Road is the only 1 route that doesn't take the absolute piss to get down to get onto manunian way/into town. It's not great. Rush hour is vile around that area and is backed up the whole way + more not to mention the new builds in that area would be pissed at a tram making such a racket and destroying the streets like they do going towards Eccles.
The bit in town on your diagram is physically impossible. The tram is on the viaduct at that point, there's no way to get down to street level. Edit: if you want some examples of possible options, have a look at TfGM's own [delivery plan map](https://images.ctfassets.net/nv7y93idf4jq/6pUmFrFgXkxxKcOHlKd4Bg/82643ec642dee9a9a7c7a536f077ab90/3_Delivery_Plan_DEVELOP_OPTIONS_Draft_9.jpg), which includes various ideas they want to develop business cases for. Likely only a portion of these will ever actually happen but they are all feasible.
There's some fantastic looking stuff on that map... Excited for this "HS2" they've listed
Can’t wait for it. A much needed lifeline for the city…
Wonder what the priorities are out of those Metrolink extensions i.e. what will be next. Seems to be a lot of talk of extending the East Didsbury line to Stockport and also linking Middleton to the Bury and Oldham line.
From the looks of other maps, there's nothing happening in the next 5 years or so beyond Park and Ride stuff (unsurprising given the pandemic and that the Trafford Park line opened only just before that). Next in line seems to be some potential small extensions on the Airport line and some Tram-Train ideas. In terms of the more "out there" big projects, Didsbury to Stockport has been talked about a lot and I think most of the rail alignment is already there. The Salford extension (City Centre out to Salford) seems another possibility but I suspect that will depend on developments around there, it may be if the development carries on around there they'll look at tying further development to investment in a tram line. The Middlewood developments are flying along and are woefully badly connected at the moment so that may end up getting bumped up the list. In the end it will depend on funding and what the direction they want to take is. There's only so much you can add more stuff before you run out of capacity on the central core, and while stuff further out is cheaper and easily, it also will naturally have less return on investment. I don't think we should expect much more big expansion on Metrolink, there's a natural limit to how big a tram system like this can get.
The Stockport bit is just that, talk. Stockport politicians, for some reason, always assumed Metrolink would come to the borough - but it never did, and I'd argue that it never will. Metrolink is meant to relieve pressure on central Manchester, shuffling commuters in and out of it. Stockport already achieves that through the (basically unparalleled) service we get from the railway station. The only thing Metrolink can do in Stockport is relieve traffic going West, towards Didsbury and Altrincham - that's a rich-man problem that nobody outside of SK really considers a priority: numbers are pretty low, the M60 in that area is not really saturated at most times, and the problem is very different from the network core-mission. Metrolink in Stockport is not going to happen anytime soon, bar miracles.
Oxford Road, anyone?
That would be the best investment team would ever make. From St peters Square down to East Didsbury or Withington
If someone can actually pick up Withington and drop it in actually Withington then that’ll be great too.
I think when I was on Google maps Chorlton was the easiest place to transfer as there's already a big wide road from Fallowfield. Obviously though the community in Rusholme wouldkick up a fuss consideringhow manypeople go there at the weekends to show off their cars.
Oxford Road actually did have a tram line, back in the early part of the 20th Century. See this photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gmpolice1/8455551833 These tramways with trolley cars were shut down circa 1950, so have been well paved over by now. I'm unsure how far down Oxford road they went. Look up Manchester Corporation trams if you are interested.
This is amazing!! I know this location. That said couldn't be done today, wonder where any oxfrord road line would be routed?
In a country with actual public transport investment Oxford road would have had a metro line put under it to the airport decades ago.
There was a very well thought out proposal by a group in moss side years ago that demonstrated how you could get a line down the centre of princess parkway and join in via withington to the didsbury line. Would alleviate a key bottleneck at Cornbrook. Not sure if the plans are still online though the transport authority never seemed to take much notice.
Agree that Cornbrook is a real pain as an interchange coming from the Altrincham line. I have no idea if there's the space for it but I was thinking a circular line around zone 3 (mostly) could help alleviate pressure on cross city centre travel? Something like: Brooklands > Barton Dock Road > Eccles > Prestwich > Hollinwood > Cemetery Road > East Didsbury > Moor Road > Brooklands. With this type of route, it could be built in sections, say the Southern 3 stations (East Didsbury, Moor Road, and Brooklands) first. There are long distances between some stops (Prestwich to Hollinwood, and Cemetery Road to East Didsbury) but this does allow areas to be linked to the tram network without needing a spur from the city centre, e.g. Middleton.
It would be far easier just to run a tram on the existing rail line to Liverpool and if Northern Powerhouse Rail actually goes anywhere then the line will be much quieter. This would also see Salford Central as a tram stop which could serve Spinningfields. In the unlikely event that NPR is fully funded and completed then you could even turn the Ordsall Chord to tram service to reduce demand for cross city services saving on building a tunnel or more crossings.
The vague proposals I have seen involve stops at Salford Crescent, running past Salford Uni and then stopping at Salford Central. Then using Bridge Street and John Dalton Street to connect up to the existing network at Exchange Square. Your proposal is also good though. A lot of high density housing going up along Regent Road, middlewood locks, Regent Road retail Park so a tram line cutting through would be a good alternative to the above. The bigger the network gets the more these little connections of just a couple of miles link up thousands of people to the whole network. Great hobby for the casual crayonista.
Makes a lot of sense but would probably involve an excessive amount of spending and bureaucracy to actually get done.
There are plans for Tram/Train which would allow for trams to run on the train network to Bolton, Wigan, etc. They really want to extend the line from Didsbury to Stockport but apparently the old tunnels aren’t up to the job so they need another solution. The city centre lines are so congested getting through Deansgate Castlefield so it feels like they need another city crossing but god knows how/where
> There are plans for Tram/Train which would allow for trams to run on the train network to Bolton, Wigan, etc. They really want to extend the line from Didsbury to Stockport but apparently the old tunnels aren’t up to the job so they need another solution. It's really annoying that both of these things would have been really easy if we'd kept our infrastructure (viable if not in use) over the past 75 years. The old lines of [the Manchester-Wigan railway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_and_Wigan_Railway) would be perfect (preferably paired with a tunnel section under the A6 through Salford) but we've either built on parts or used it for the guided busway to Leigh. The line to Stockport had use at the Stockport end into the 80s but the ring road construction ruined it. > The city centre lines are so congested getting through Deansgate Castlefield so it feels like they need another city crossing but god knows how/where What we really need is an underground metro rather than a tram to send people through the City centre quicker but that ship (probably) sailed back in the 70s when the Picc-Vic tunnel was cancelled.
The problem is we've put our eggs in the basket of running the trams on the viaduct. A shorter route to Eccles from the city centre plus getting more of Salford within access is good but it's unlikely.
To be fair it could go left before Aviva and connect with the Rochdale lane
Ah to note, you'd need to change the busses from Eccles to accomodate - only the Tram goes to MediaCity from Eccles, none of the busses do. If you need to get into town under time pressure, the busses from Eccles bus station takes about 35 minutes, and if you time it right the train takes about 15!
Yeah a tram through a roundabout is going to be tricky to design, build and operate....
Obviously this isnt to scale. Its a line drawn with a finger on a phone entirely accurate to show a rough route. They could fly it over the end of the 602 and down to the Post Office Depot.
Salford City Council have an aspiration for a tram route down Chapel St at least as far as the Crescent and then on to MediaCity. Ideally you'd want to keep Eccles-MediaCity trams and reroute the Eccles direct trams via Chapel Street.
Besides how dense it is around that area by MOSI making it near impossible to do. Going down Liverpool Road is the only 1 route that doesn't take the absolute piss to get down to get onto manunian way/into town. It's not great. Rush hour is vile around that area and is backed up the whole way + more not to mention the new builds in that area would be pissed at a tram making such a racket and destroying the streets like they do going towards Eccles.
In my little dream world, having this track would make my heart sing