November has seen the most passengers ever carried in a single month on Manchester Metrolink with almost 4 million passenger journeys recorded over the 30 days. The service may not always be reliable – and there may be stories in the media about passengers having to push a tram to get it moving – but Metrolink has not only firmly established as the biggest tram network in the UK but also as a vital component in the transport offering in Greater Manchester.
Over the 30 days of November 3, 972, 807 passenger journeys were recorded on the tram and this has been confirmed as the most popular month in the 26 year history of Metrolink.
Aline Frantzen, Managing Director of KeolisAmey Metrolink, commented: “This growth is in no small part thanks to our people who work hard to operate and maintain Metrolink and keep Greater Manchester moving every day. In less than 18 months as operator, we have delivered significant improvements. There are fewer delays, safety and security has improved, the network is cleaner, and we’ve worked hard with TfGM to increase capacity by putting extra trams on where possible. The latest example has been the recent boost in services to better cater for the Christmas season.”
More improvements are on the cards for Metrolink with an improved frequency to Ashton-under-Lyne from January (trams every six minutes) whilst the new zonal fare system will also be introduced from the new year.
And what of that story about passengers having to push a tram? Well, it probably hasn’t escaped your notice – with the story making its way into some national media publications as well – but earlier this week passengers had to push a tram away from the platform edge at Brooklands after it became stuck against the edge. This isn’t the first time this has happened on Metrolink and occurs because of the small gap between the platform edge and the tram which can sometimes become misaligned on crowded trams.