The Trafford Park Line is a light rail line on the

Manchester Metrolink Manchester Metrolink (branded locally simply as Metrolink) is a tram/ light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has 99 stops along of standard-gauge route, making it the most extensive light rail system in the United Ki ...

network in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, England, running from Pomona to

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 ...

. Its name derives from

Trafford Park Trafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Manchester city centre and north of Stretford. Until the l ...

, an area of the

Metropolitan Borough of Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...

, and the first planned

industrial estate An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...

in the world. The line opened in March 2020.

History

Between July and September 2014,

Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. TfGM is responsible for investments in improving transport services and facilitie ...

conducted a public consultation to build the line. In November 2014, the agency applied for power under the

Transport and Works Act 1992 The Transport and Works Act 1992 (TWA) was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to provide a system by which the construction of rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that tran ...

to build and operate the line. In October 2016, power to build the line was granted by the

Secretary of State for Transport The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent is ...

. Construction commenced in January 2017. 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, despite suggestions that it might be delayed as part of a review of all Metrolink services because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Route description

The line branches off from the

Eccles Line The Eccles Line is a tram line of the Manchester Metrolink in Greater Manchester running from Manchester to Eccles via Salford Quays, with a short spur to MediaCityUK. It was opened in phases during 1999–2000 as part of the second phase of the ...

immediately south of Pomona, where provision was made for a future junction at the south–western end when the viaduct on which it sits was built in the late 1990s. Stops have been built at Wharfside,

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

Village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

Parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...

, Barton Dock Road and the Trafford Centre. Future provision has been made to extend the line to

Port Salford Port Salford is a freight terminal on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Barton-upon-Irwell, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The port is part of the Atlantic Gateway project and its construction was led b ...

. Services operate as a self-contained shuttle between

Cornbrook Cornbrook tram stop is a tram stop on Greater Manchester's light rail Metrolink system in the Cornbrook area of Manchester, England. It is an interchange station, allowing passenger transfer between the network's Altrincham, Eccles, Airport, Tr ...

and

Rolling stock

To provide rolling stock for the line and other service expansions, 27

Bombardier M5000 The Bombardier M5000, is a model of light rail passenger vehicle. It is part of the Flexity Swift range of vehicles, built specifically as a high-floor, articulated bi-directional tram to operate solely on the Manchester Metrolink system in En ...

trams were ordered; these incorporate modifications to the existing fleet including new touch screen Vecom units for drivers.

References

External links

* {{Manchester Metrolink tram stops Manchester Metrolink lines Railway lines opened in 2020 Trafford 2020 establishments in England