No sooner do we report on various adverts being removed on Manchester Metrolink trams then there is a whole host of more added – including some of those very trams we said were now back in fleet livery! 3024, 3061, 3116 and 3118 have all got new vinyls – three of them had only just gone back to fleet colours whereas we also have a first timer.
That first timer is 3024 which becomes the 2024 Metrolink Pride tram – and if you remember what that looked like last year then you have a very good idea what it looks like this year as it identical vinyls. Last year it was 3023 which carried the livery so we’ve just added one to that number for the tram this year. This is the first non standard livery carried by 3024.
The other three have all recently seen previous adverts removed. Taking them in numerical order we see 3061 now advertising Rockstar drink (an energy drink). It had until May been advertising Rochdale Town Hall and previously carried ads for Babyliss (September-October 2019), GetOnBoard (October-December 2022) and Peagsus Airlines (May-November 2023), making this its fifth.
3116 sees a return to advertising on the trams by Chester Zoo (who advertised on 3075 between July and September 2023) and is again a double sided design. It had only received an ad for Sephora in May which has now been removed and the Chester Zoo design is also is fifth with Cheshire Oaks Outlet (May-September 2019), Sale Sharks (August-November 2022) and National Trust (March-May 2024) having been its others.
3118’s new advert is for AliExpress (an online retailer who offer he latest in men’s, women’s and children’s fashions). David Beckham is being used in their current advertising campaign and he becomes the latest footballer to be seen on a tram (Lionel Messi having done it twice). This tram had also lost its last advert (Tommy Hilfiger) in May – that was its first ever ad.
3024 in is Love Connects Everyone livery at Deansgate-Castlefield waiting to depart for MediaCityUK.
Chester Zoo’s advert on 3116 features a different wrap on each side. The side seen here features penguins.
And its tiger’s on the other side.
Here we see 3118 with its new advert for AliExpress with the tram stopping at Deansgate-Castlefield bound for Manchester Airport. (All Photographs by Reece Hughes, 7th June 2024)