New tram stop, Trafford Centre (geograph 6238685)

The Trafford Centre is a

tram stop A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, bu ...

built for

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

's Metrolink light rail system, built to serve passengers boarding and alighting at the

Trafford Centre The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and entertainment complex in Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1998 and is third largest in the United Kingdom by retail space. Originally developed by the Peel Group, the Trafford C ...

on the

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, ...

. Previously known as ''intu Trafford Centre'', the tram terminus received the name ''The Trafford Centre'' after

intu Intu Properties plc was a British real estate investment trust (REIT), largely focused on shopping centre management and development. Originally named Liberty International plc, it changed its name in May 2010 to Capital Shopping Centres Group p ...

ceased ownership of the shopping centre, the tram stop's namesake. The stop is located adjacent to Barton Dock Road between Ellesmere Circle and Bright Circle.

History

In 2013, the

Greater Manchester Combined Authority The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is a combined authority for Greater Manchester, England. It was established on 1 April 2011 and consists of 11 members; 10 indirectly elected members, each a directly elected councillor from one ...

and the Greater Manchester

Local Enterprise Partnership In England, local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) are voluntary partnerships between local authorities and businesses, set up in 2011 by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to help determine local economic priorities and lead econo ...

announced it may fund the construction of the Trafford line as far as Trafford Centre Metrolink station using the Earnback mechanism of the Greater Manchester City Deal, estimating that the line could be open to passengers by 2018/19 (subject to a satisfactory business case, Transport and Works Act Order and public consultation). The Metrolink stop at the Trafford Centre was endorsed by former owner

intu Properties Intu Properties plc was a British real estate investment trust (REIT), largely focused on shopping centre management and development. Originally named Liberty International plc, it changed its name in May 2010 to Capital Shopping Centres Group p ...

, and is located along a new line routed from Pomona. An alternative route to this proposed stop also featured in

Salford City Council Salford City Council is the local authority of the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan borough council, one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the maj ...

unitary development plan In United Kingdom planning law, a unitary development plan (UDP) is a development plan prepared by a metropolitan district, London Borough or some unitary local authorities. Background UDPs contains policies equivalent to those in both a struct ...

(2004–2016), whereby Metrolink would be expanded to the Trafford Centre from

Eccles Interchange Eccles Interchange is a transport hub in Eccles, Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of a bus station, and a single-platform Metrolink light rail station, the latter of which is the terminus of the system's Eccles Line. It opened on 21 ...

via the

A57 road The A57 is a major road in England. It runs east from Liverpool to Lincoln, England, Lincoln via Warrington, Cadishead, Irlam, Patricroft, Eccles, Greater Manchester, Eccles, Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford and Manchester, then through t ...

Barton-upon-Irwell Barton upon Irwell (also known as Barton-on-Irwell or Barton) is a suburb of the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 12,462 in 2014. History Barton Old Hall, a brick-built house degraded to a farmhouse, was the se ...

. It opened on 22 March 2020. Following the administration of the intu Group, the shopping centre was renamed to drop references to its former owner in November 2020. Online references to the stop were altered to ''The Trafford Centre'' in January 2021.

Layout

The Trafford Centre received approval for a new covered walkway to connect the shopping centre to the tram stop, which has been completed ready for the start of passenger service.

Services

From this stop a service runs generally every 12 minutes towards Cornbrook. There are plans to extend the line to Crumpsall on the Bury line, when this is to be done is unknown

References

Bibliography

* * Tram stops in Trafford Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2020 {{UK-metro-stub