{"id":62830,"date":"2026-04-28T22:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T21:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=62830"},"modified":"2026-04-28T19:59:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:59:06","slug":"in-pictures-metrolink-3053-returns-to-manchester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=62830","title":{"rendered":"In Pictures: Metrolink 3053 returns to Manchester"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunday 26th<\/sup> April 2026 saw the return of Manchester Metrolink M5000 3053<\/strong> to Queens Road Depot following completion of its accident repairs in Scotland.<\/p>\n

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3053<\/strong> had suffered damage when it collided with a bus at Piccadilly Gardens on 18th<\/sup> October 2024 and following assessment it was decided that it would be best to send it away for repair work to take place. The contract was awarded to Brodie Engineering, Kilmarnock with the tram being collected by Allelys on 20th<\/sup> July 2025.<\/p>\n

Now some nine months later the tram is back in Manchester with Allelys once again doing the honours to transport 3053<\/strong> back south of the border. The lorry arrived back at Queens Road Depot early on Sunday 26th<\/sup> April 2026 and was swiftly unloaded.<\/p>\n

The tram will now await further commissioning work for it to be returned back to service. There is no timeline in place for this to happen and its not expected that you will be seeing it running out on the mainline in the immediate future.<\/p>\n

This is the second tram in recent years which has enjoyed a trip to Kilmarnock with Supertram 105<\/strong> having been there between March 2022 and August 2023 (it having been hit by a lorry causing damage).<\/p>\n