May 2026 will see two sets of major trackworks take place on Manchester Metrolink affecting services on the Oldham and Rochdale line as well as through Piccadilly Gardens. Bus replacement services will be in place during the works which is the latest part of the £150 million investment to improve the tram network.
Saturday 16th to Friday 29th May 2026
There will no trams on the Oldham and Rochdale line throughout this two week period with services from East Didsbury being terminated short at Exchange Square.
During this closure major work will be taking place between Monsall and Newton Heath & Monsall with the replacement of track and drainage improvements. The track foundation will be replaced where needed, as well as work to correct the alignment and level of the track. 290 new concrete sleepers will be installed with 2,000 tonnes of pea gravel and 5,000 tonnes of ballast also due to go down.
During the works there will be a replacement bus service from Victoria to Rochdale, which will be the only service that Metrolink tickets are valid. Anyone wishing to buy tickets at Monsall tramstop will not be able to cross the tracks during the work and are advised to access the platforms via Ruislip Avenue or Upper Monsall Street.
At the same time further work will be carried out at Derker. This will see a longer-term solution put in place following the landslip in summer 2024. This will see teams drive steel sheets into the ground to hold it in place and prevent further movement. The job will be completed later in the year.
Monday 25th to Friday 29th May 2026
No trams will be able to run between St Peter’s Square/Market Street and Piccadilly whilst work to update equipment that has been in place since Metrolink opened in 1992 takes place.
During these five days trams will run every 15 minutes:
- Exchange Square to East Didsbury
- Bury to Altrincham (trams every 7.5 minutes at peak times)
- Manchester Airport to Victoria
- Deansgate-Castlefield to Eccles via MediaCityUK
- The Trafford Centre to Crumpsall (via Market Street)
- Piccadilly to Ashton-under-Lyne
Ian Davies, TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “These improvements are part of our continued £150m investment to make our tram network safer, more reliable and more resilient for the long term.
“It’s a really big job, which means we have to close the line to get it done, but in the longer term this will make a real difference to everyone that travels with us.
“We’d like to thank people for their patience while this essential work takes place. We’ll have replacement bus services in place, and our staff will be out across the network to help everyone make their journey as usual.”
Services should resume as normal from Saturday 30th May 2026 (although retaining the 15 minute frequency as part of the temporary timetable expected to remain in place throughout the summer to allow major driver recruitment programme).
- Full details of planned Metrolink engineering works is on the TfGM website at https://tfgm.com/tram-improvement-works