Trafford Park Line

The Trafford Park Line is a light rail line on the Manchester Metrolink network in Greater Manchester, England, running from Pomona to the Trafford Centre. Its name derives from Trafford Park, an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, and the first planned industrial estate in the world.^[1] The line opened in March 2020.

Trafford Park Line
A Bombardier M5000 tram approaching the Trafford Centre.
Overview
Locale	Manchester Trafford
Termini	Pomona The Trafford Centre
Stations	6
Website	Transport for Greater Manchester
Service
Type	Tram/Light rail
System	Manchester Metrolink
Rolling stock	Bombardier M5000
History
Opened	22 March 2020
Technical
Line length	5.5 km (3.4 mi)
Character	Reserved track & limited street running
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 volts DC overhead
Operating speed	40 mph (64km/h)
Route map Legend to Pomona to Exchange Quay Pomona Docks Trafford Park boundary 0:13 Wharfside 0:11 Imperial War Museum footbridges to MediaCityUK Manchester Ship Canal 0:08 Village 0:06 Parkway Bridgewater Canal 0:02 Barton Dock Road 0:00 The Trafford Centre This diagram: view talk edit

History

Plans for Metrolink to serve Trafford Park first obtained statutory approval via the Greater Manchester (Light Rapid Transit System) Act of 1992 but no funding was provided to construct the line at that time.^[2]

In the 1995 The Trafford Centre was granted planning permission and provision for Metrolink was designed into its grounds. The centres developer, Peel Group were keen to support the line and promised to commit £16 million in funding during 1998.^[3]

TGFM obtained revised powers to build the line in 2001 under the Greater Manchester (Light Rapid Transit System) (Trafford Park) act but again no funding was allocated.

The line was also included in the 2008 TIF proposal but this was rejected by the voting public. The Peel Group opponents of the TIF with its chairman - John Whittaker suggesting that Manchester Airport could be sold to raise the required funds for transport improvements.^[3]

The line was again excluded from the Phase 3 Metrolink development in 2009 due to lack of funds.

By the early 2010's the line had reached the top of Metrolink's development priorities and TFGM began to conceive a plan to construct it. Between July and September 2014, Transport for Greater Manchester conducted a public consultation to build the line resulting to some modifications to the route and the location of stops.^[4][5] In November 2014, the agency applied for power under the Transport and Works Act 1992 to build and operate the line.^[6] In October 2016, power to build the line was granted by the Secretary of State for Transport.^{[7][8][9][10]} Construction commenced in January 2017.^[11][12]

The £350 million funding envelope was mostly provided by The Government as part of an arrangement with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. £20 million was provided by Trafford Council.^[13]

The final stretch of track was laid in November 2019, with the first test trams running soon after. The line opened on 22 March 2020, eight months earlier than originally planned,^[14][15] despite suggestions that it might be delayed^[16] as part of a review of all Metrolink services because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[17]

Route

The Trafford Park Line begins at a junction with the Eccles Line immediately west of Pomona stop. The viaduct had been built with provisions in place for the line to branch off.

After the junction at Pomona, the tram line descends and passes underneath Trafford Road Bridge and reaches Wharfside tram stop. It continues to run alongside the Manchester Ship Canal for about a quarter of a mile before making two sharp turns to get to Imperial War Museum tram stop. After the stop, it merges into the central reservation section of Trafford Wharf Road, and later makes another sharp left turn to run along Warren Bruce Road. There are stabling sidings along this section, but they are not regularly used.

The line turns right again to run along Village Way and reaches Village tram stop. Half of the way to Parkway, the line continues to run adjacent to the road, but later merges into the central reservation again and reaches Parkway tram stop. After traversing through Parkway Circle, the tram line turns to get out of the road and onto a purpose-built tram bridge (the fastest section of the line), then turns right and runs adjacent to Barton Dock Road before reaching its like-named tram stop. The tram line completely crosses Barton Dock Road after the stop and a short stretch brings the line to its terminus at The Trafford Centre.

Future provision has been made to extend the line to Port Salford.^[18]

Map of the Trafford Park Line route (in red), and all stops on the route. One inaccuracy: intu Trafford Centre was renamed to The Trafford Centre in January 2021.

Rolling stock

To provide rolling stock for the line and other service expansions, 27 Bombardier M5000 trams were ordered; these incorporate modifications to the existing fleet including new touch screen Vecom units for drivers.^[19][20]

Services

Services operate between The Trafford Centre and Deansgate-Castlefield at a frequency of every 12 minutes Monday-Saturday, and every 15 minutes on Sundays.^[21]