A cracked rail at Victoria had meant that from the start of service on Tuesday 16th January 2024 there has been an amendment to the services being operated on the Manchester Metrolink network. Whilst all services are still operating additional routes are being sent via 2CC until the end of service on Friday 19th January 2024.
Trams running between Altincham and Bury and from Manchester Airport to Victoria are being diverted via 2CC (Exchange Square) during this period instead of travelling via 1CC (Shudehill and Market Street). Services from Bury to Piccadilly are still able to run via 1CC and anyone for Shudehill or Market Street are being advised to travel on these services.
During this service change engineers will undertake some temporary repairs and it will also allow some further investigations to take place.
This work comes ahead of a complete network shutdown which is due before 0900 on Sunday 21st January. The first trams will leave depot from 0900 but its not expected that a full service will be in operation until 1030.
Sunday 21st January also sees engineering works on the Ashton-under-Lyne line. Trams on the Altrincham, Bury and Eccles lines will only run as far as Piccadilly Gardens throughout the day. The Ashton work will see a replacement bus service but there will be no dedicated buses for the complete network shutdown.
Danny Vaughan, Head of Metrolink at TfGM, said: “Metrolink is the largest tram network in the country, and we’re now running more services and carrying more passengers than ever before.
“That’s why it’s important for us to maintain and improve the Metrolink network, to ensure that it continues to provide a safe and reliable service for all of our customers.
“While the weekend works are planned, the nature of a large network like ours also means that unfortunately there are unplanned works that we need to manage – and over the next couple of days a team of engineers will be making some temporary repairs and undertaking a full inspection of a cracked rail at Victoria.
“We’ll have plenty of staff across the network to help customers, but I’d encourage anyone planning to travel with us to plan ahead and check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”