The evening of Wednesday 2nd November saw two incidents on the Manchester Metrolink system leading to major disruption on both the Eccles and Ashton lines. Whilst this would usually be one service impacted with trams running between Ashton and Eccles, with the temporary timetable in place at the moment it meant that trams between Eccles and Deansgate-Castlefield and from Ashton to Crumpsall were affected.
The more serious of the two incidents occurred around Anchorage on the Eccles line with both the overhead and two trams suffering damage. The cause was an external incident to the tramway and its believed that a cladding panel was being lifted and was caught by a gust of wind. Its unclear whether this caused part of the cladding to dislodge or for some bricks from a scaffold to be knocked down but what is known is that it caused damage to both the overhead line and two trams.
Whatever was dislodged caused the damage to the overhead and a tram in the vicinity also suffered damage to its windscreen. The pantograph of a second tram then suffered damage owing to the damage caused to the overhead line equipment.
Services were suspended on the line through until mid-afternoon on Thursday 3rd November to allow repairs to be undertaken to the overhead and make the area safe.
The second incident happened on the Ashton line and involved M5000 3118 (which was part of a double unit) in a collision with a Mercedes. The collision was close to the Velopark stop on Ashton New Road by the Asda superstore. Four people in the car had to be freed from their vehicle and after assessment were taken to hospital for further treatment.
This collision happened on an evening that Manchester City were playing a home Champions League fixture – and with it happening just before 1800 many fans were still trying to make their way to the match only to be met with disruption. A limited service was able to operate either side of the incident: Crumpsall-Etihad Campus and Clayton Hall-Ashton.