140-428: Manchester Metrolink is a tram / light rail system in Greater Manchester , England. The network has 99 stops along 64 miles (103 km) of standard-gauge route, making it the most extensive light rail system in the United Kingdom . Over the 2023/24 financial year 42 million passenger journeys were made on the system. Metrolink is owned by the public body Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and
280-622: A tram engine in the UK) at the head of a line of one or more carriages, similar to a small train. Systems with such steam trams included Christchurch , New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; other city systems in New South Wales ; Munich , Germany (from August 1883 on), British India (from 1885) and the Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway (from 1888) in Ireland. Steam tramways also were used on
420-462: A 12-minute frequency (24-minute after 00:00): Thus the combined frequency for some routes is every 6 minutes or less. Other part-day services The Altrincham – Piccadilly service operates an extended service to Etihad Campus from 20:00–00:00 on Monday–Thursdays, 20:00–01:00 Friday–Saturdays, and 07:00–00:00 (all day) Sundays and bank holidays . One service which replaces the normal service and runs to Etihad Campus via Piccadilly and runs to
560-464: A 12-minute frequency (24-minute after 00:00, and 15-minute on Sundays): Early morning service The early morning service used to operate from 03:00–06:00 Monday–Saturdays and 03:00–07:00 on Sundays and bank holidays. One service which ran to a 20-minute frequency: This was mostly to support airport shift workers and people with early flights, however, these services were removed in March 2020 due to
700-542: A 12-minute frequency (24-minute after 00:00, and 15-minute on Sundays): This is the minimum service that the Metrolink can provide whilst bringing trams to all available stops, hence why it is called the 'core' service. Daytime services (enhanced) The following services run alongside the core service during peak times: from 07:00–20:00 on Monday–Friday and 09:00–18:30 on Saturdays, and not operational on Sundays or bank holidays . Three extra services which each run to
840-520: A Vermont blacksmith, had invented a battery-powered electric motor which he later patented. The following year he used it to operate a small model electric car on a short section of track four feet in diameter. Attempts to use batteries as a source of electricity were made from the 1880s and 1890s, with unsuccessful trials conducted in among other places Bendigo and Adelaide in Australia, and for about 14 years as The Hague accutram of HTM in
980-488: A baseline Service Specification to grade bidders seeking to operate the concession from July 2017, once the Second City Crossing was in operation. In the baseline service pattern, there are no designated 'peak' periods of service operation; instead, there was an 'enhanced' service operating from start of service to 08:00 Monday to Friday, and to 18:00 Saturday; and a 'core' service running at all other times. In
1120-458: A circuit around the station, upon which electrically powered trolleys ran suspended from the track, operated by airborne attendants. A large basket could be raised and lowered from the trolleys to distribute parcels and newspapers across the station. The system operated until 1940. The L&YR merged with the LNWR on 1 January 1922. A year later, the merged company became the largest constituent of
1260-457: A fleet of 147 trams. Because low-floor tram technology was in its infancy when Metrolink was in its planning stages, and in order to be compatible with the former British Rail stations that Metrolink inherited, the network uses high-floor trams with a platform height of 900 mm (35 in), the same height as main line trains. Trams on Metrolink operate either single units, or coupled together to form double units, which regularly run on
1400-619: A goods station. The station was named Victoria in 1843. Its long, single-storey building, designed by George Stephenson and completed by John Brogden , was approached by a wooden footbridge over the River Irk before the river was culverted . Most of the original 1844 station buildings are standing including part of the original façade on Hunt's Bank. The L&MR became part of the Grand Junction Railway in 1845, which in turn amalgamated with other railways to create
1540-575: A new east wing of the station building. Two decades later, the L&;YR purchased and demolished the workhouse north of the station, and its site was used to build another bay and five through platforms which came into use in 1884. That same year, the LNWR opened its own station, Manchester Exchange immediately to the west on the opposite side of the River Irwell , and vacated Victoria. Victoria reached its maximum extent of 17 platforms in 1904 when
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#17327725273341680-421: A side platform for Bury bound trams lettered A, which was later taken out of use due to leaks in the station roof. The Metrolink platforms at Victoria closed on 21 February 2014 and were rebuilt in a different configuration to allow for increased services. The rebuilt stop reopened on 18 February 2015. The new configuration has two island platforms serving three tracks, with platform faces lettered A, B, C and D;
1820-726: A similar technology, Pirotsky put into service the first public electric tramway in St. Petersburg, which operated only during September 1880. The second demonstration tramway was presented by Siemens & Halske at the 1879 Berlin Industrial Exposition. The first public electric tramway used for permanent service was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It
1960-414: A stop at Wharfside to serve Old Trafford Stadium closer and faster than Old Trafford tram stop , a stop at Imperial War Museum , also providing a closer and faster connection to IWM North from the city centre, the alternate tram option being walking from MediaCityUK , and a stop adjacent to Barton Dock Road , serving Trafford Palazzo . All six stops also opened with new dot matrix displays unique to
2100-946: A well-known tourist attraction . A single cable line also survives in Wellington (rebuilt in 1979 as a funicular but still called the " Wellington Cable Car "). Another system, with two separate cable lines and a shared power station in the middle, operates from the Welsh town of Llandudno up to the top of the Great Orme hill in North Wales , UK. Hastings and some other tramways, for example Stockholms Spårvägar in Sweden and some lines in Karachi , used petrol trams. Galveston Island Trolley in Texas operated diesel trams due to
2240-465: Is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral , it adjoins Manchester Arena which was constructed on part of the former station site in the 1990s. Opened in 1844 and part of the Manchester station group , Manchester Victoria is Manchester's second busiest railway station after Piccadilly , and
2380-526: Is also being introduced on TPE routes in 2019–20, including Class 68 Nova 3 push-pull sets and Class 802 Nova 1 bi-mode multiple units. Since the May 2018 timetable change, all express services on the North TransPennine route call at the station. These services are run by TransPennine Express . Westbound, two trains an hour run express to Liverpool Lime Street (one calling at Lea Green and
2520-508: Is an interchange with the city's Metrolink light rail system. The stop is at the northern edge of the system's Zone 1 and the start of the Bury Line . The tram platforms opened on 6 April 1992 for services to Bury which replaced the long-established heavy rail service. The tram platforms were built on the site of the former railway platforms 5 to 8, the terminus of the Bury line. The line
2660-498: Is operated by TransPennine Express. Reinstatement of the south and west curve at Todmorden on the Caldervale Line facilitated a direct service between Victoria and Burnley Manchester Road Station for the first time in almost fifty years. In the 1900s the Bury Line , a busy commuter line which served the suburbs of north Manchester from Victoria, was losing passengers to tramway competition , in response to this, in 1914
2800-407: Is operated by a fleet of 147 high-floor Bombardier M5000 light rail vehicles. Each of the nine Metrolink routes run five trams per hour in each direction; stops with more than one route running through it will have trams arriving more frequently. Services on busier lines operate as "doubles": two tram vehicles coupled together. A light rail system for Greater Manchester emerged from the failure of
2940-582: Is part of the region's Bee Network . It is operated and maintained under contract by a Keolis / Amey consortium. The network consists of eight lines which radiate from Manchester city centre to termini at Altrincham , Ashton-under-Lyne , Bury , East Didsbury , Eccles , Manchester Airport , Rochdale and the Trafford Centre . It runs on a mixture of on-street track shared with other traffic; reserved track sections segregated from other traffic, and converted former railway lines. Metrolink
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#17327725273343080-628: Is served by two train operating companies , Northern and TransPennine Express . It is occasionally used by CrossCountry services during engineering works. The Chat Moss route to Liverpool is operated by TransPennine Express Class 185s DMUs and Northern Class 319 EMUs (peak time & early morning only). The Ribble Valley Line to Blackburn and Clitheroe is operated by Class 156 , Class 150 with Class 153 strengthening services at peak times . Leeds Calder Valley services are usually operated by Class 158 Sprinter DMUs, though Class 195 Civity units are now used on many Chester trains. New stock
3220-640: Is still in operation in modernised form. The earliest tram system in Canada was built by John Joseph Wright , brother of the famous mining entrepreneur Whitaker Wright , in Toronto in 1883, introducing electric trams in 1892. In the US, multiple experimental electric trams were exhibited at the 1884 World Cotton Centennial World's Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana , but they were not deemed good enough to replace
3360-507: Is the busiest station managed by Northern . The station hosts local and regional services to destinations in Northern England , such as Blackburn , Rochdale , Bradford , Leeds , Newcastle , Huddersfield , Halifax , Wigan , Southport , Blackpool (Sundays only) and Liverpool using the original Liverpool to Manchester line . Most trains calling at Victoria are operated by Northern. TransPennine Express services call at
3500-734: Is the sole survivor of the fleet). In Italy, in Trieste , the Trieste–Opicina tramway was opened in 1902, with the steepest section of the route being negotiated with the help of a funicular and its cables. Cable cars suffered from high infrastructure costs, since an expensive system of cables , pulleys , stationary engines and lengthy underground vault structures beneath the rails had to be provided. They also required physical strength and skill to operate, and alert operators to avoid obstructions and other cable cars. The cable had to be disconnected ("dropped") at designated locations to allow
3640-672: The Airport Line 's opening. Phase 3b was delayed after a failed bid to raise funding through the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund and a proposed traffic congestion charge in 2008. GMPTE and AGMA instead funded Phase 3b through a combination of council tax , government grants, Metrolink fares and contributions from the Manchester Airports Group and other bodies. With increased tram traffic brought about by
3780-713: The Bleecker Street Line until its closure in 1917. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , had its Sarah Street line drawn by horses until 1923. The last regular mule-drawn cars in the US ran in Sulphur Rock, Arkansas , until 1926 and were commemorated by a U.S. postage stamp issued in 1983. The last mule tram service in Mexico City ended in 1932, and a mule tram in Celaya, Mexico , survived until 1954. The last horse-drawn tram to be withdrawn from public service in
3920-584: The COVID-19 pandemic . There are currently no plans to reintroduce this service. Services during COVID-19 pandemic Due to changing travel patterns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, advice was against all but essential travel, and thus, the Metrolink temporarily introduced a reduced timetable, and trams ran to a 20-minute frequency on the following routes only. Gradually, in the following months, with more people returning to work and social activities,
4060-670: The Cologne Stadtbahn and Bonn Stadtbahn . Tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in the United States) is a type of urban rail transit consisting of either individual railcars or self-propelled multiple unit trains that run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way . The tramlines or tram networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Because of their close similarities, trams are commonly included in
4200-724: The G-Mex , with a 0.4-mile (0.64 km) branch from Piccadilly Gardens to Manchester Piccadilly station . This route is now known as the First City Crossing (1CC), and it was built with network expansion in mind. A fleet of 26 AnsaldoBreda T-68 light rail vehicles was procured to operate the 19.2-mile (30.9 km) network. Construction was carried out by the GMA Group (a consortium of AMEC , GM Buses , John Mowlem & Company and GEC ), costing £145 million (equivalent to £379 million in 2023). Metrolink
4340-538: The Italianate style in sandstone ashlar with slate roofs in 1844. They were later enlarged and given a second storey. William Dawes built the station's larger extension for the L&YR in 1909. It is at right-angles to the north end of the old station giving the enlarged station an L-shaped plan. Facing Victoria Station Approach, its façade is in the Edwardian neo-Baroque style , four storeys high and 31 bays to
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4480-933: The Lamm fireless engines then propelling the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar in that city. The first commercial installation of an electric streetcar in the United States was built in 1884 in Cleveland, Ohio , and operated for a period of one year by the East Cleveland Street Railway Company. The first city-wide electric streetcar system was implemented in 1886 in Montgomery, Alabama , by the Capital City Street Railway Company, and ran for 50 years. In 1888,
4620-582: The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in 1846; the M&;LR amalgamated with other railways to create the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) the following year. The headquarters of the L&YR were based alongside Victoria. By the mid-1840s six railway companies operated from the station connecting Manchester to London, Glasgow , Liverpool , Leeds and Sheffield . Victoria Station dominated
4760-567: The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). From 16 April 1929, Victoria and Exchange station were linked by the westward extension of platform 11 over the Irwell bridge, known as platform "11 Middle", which joined to Exchange's platform 3 to create Europe's longest platform at 2,238 feet (682 m). Crossovers enabled it to accommodate three trains arriving and departing independently. Exchange Station closed in 1969 and its services were transferred to Victoria. The Exchange Station site opposite
4900-638: The Manchester Arena and improved retail and dining facilities. Work to refurbish the station began in April 2013. The old roof was dismantled in autumn 2013. Installation of the £17 million roof began in May 2014 and final roof beam was lifted into position on 13 October 2014. Installation of the ETFE sheeting was completed in spring 2015, and the station upgrade was completed in August 2015, with
5040-570: The Oldham and Rochdale Line , East Manchester Line , South Manchester Line , and Airport Line . Phase 3 was put in doubt when central government funding was withdrawn due to increasing costs, but after negotiations with the Department for Transport, Phase 3 was split into two parts, 3a and 3b, to secure investment. The new 0.25-mile (0.40 km) spur off the Eccles Line to MediaCityUK
5180-715: The Richmond Union Passenger Railway began to operate trams in Richmond, Virginia , that Frank J. Sprague had built. Sprague later developed multiple unit control, first demonstrated in Chicago in 1897, allowing multiple cars to be coupled together and operated by a single motorman. This gave rise to the modern subway train. Following the improvement of an overhead "trolley" system on streetcars for collecting electricity from overhead wires by Sprague, electric tram systems were rapidly adopted across
5320-508: The Trafford Park Line from Pomona to The Trafford Centre , opened on 22 March 2020. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has proposed numerous further expansions of the network , including the addition of tram-train technology to extend Metrolink services onto local heavy-rail lines. Manchester's first tram age began in 1877 with the first horse-drawn trams of Manchester Suburban Tramways Company . Electric traction
5460-824: The West Midlands Metro in Birmingham , England adopted battery-powered trams on sections through the city centre close to Grade I listed Birmingham Town Hall . Paris and Berne (Switzerland) operated trams that were powered by compressed air using the Mekarski system . Trials on street tramways in Britain, including by the North Metropolitan Tramway Company between Kings Cross and Holloway, London (1883), achieved acceptable results but were found not to be economic because of
5600-401: The enhanced service pattern operates the core service plus extra services up to Bury, Altrincham, Etihad Campus, Shaw and Crompton, East Didsbury, and MediaCityUK. All-day services (core) The following services run during all operating times, from 06:00–00:00 on Monday–Thursday, 06:00–01:00 on Friday–Saturday, and 07:00–00:00 on Sundays and bank holidays . Six services which each run to
5740-537: The ' Picc-Vic tunnel ' project. The project was a proposal to link Piccadilly and Victoria stations via a tunnel under the city centre and enable train services to run across the Manchester conurbation. Greater Manchester County Council (GMC) inherited the project and presented it to the United Kingdom Government in 1974, but the council failed to secure the necessary funding, and the project
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5880-451: The 'enhanced' service pattern, trams ran with a six-minute frequency to Shaw and Crompton, Bury, Ashton-under-Lyne, Altrincham, Manchester Airport and East Didsbury; and with a 12-minute frequency to Rochdale, Eccles and MediaCityUK. As of 2024, the core service pattern operates exactly one route to every terminus on the Metrolink network, during all operating times, at a 12-minute frequency on all routes (15 minute frequency on Sundays), and
6020-1241: The 1850s, after which the "animal railway" became an increasingly common feature in the larger towns. The first permanent tram line in continental Europe was opened in Paris in 1855 by Alphonse Loubat who had previously worked on American streetcar lines. The tram was developed in numerous cities of Europe (some of the most extensive systems were found in Berlin, Budapest , Birmingham , Saint Petersburg , Lisbon , London , Manchester , Paris , Kyiv ). The first tram in South America opened in 1858 in Santiago, Chile . The first trams in Australia opened in 1860 in Sydney . Africa's first tram service started in Alexandria on 8 January 1863. The first trams in Asia opened in 1869 in Batavia (Jakarta), Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) . Limitations of horsecars included
6160-713: The 1894-built horse tram at Victor Harbor in South Australia . New horse-drawn systems have been established at the Hokkaidō Museum in Japan and also in Disneyland . A horse-tram route in Polish gmina Mrozy , first built in 1902, was reopened in 2012. The first mechanical trams were powered by steam . Generally, there were two types of steam tram. The first and most common had a small steam locomotive (called
6300-506: The 1960s, transport design studies were undertaken to address the problems of increasing traffic congestion . Many urban public transport schemes were evaluated for Manchester, including several types of monorail systems and metro-style systems. While the monorail schemes were all abandoned, a scheme to create a tunnel link gained momentum. The SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive — the body formed in 1969 to improve public transport for Manchester and its surrounding municipalities – promoted
6440-411: The 1970s Picc-Vic tunnel scheme to obtain central government funding. A light-rail scheme was proposed in 1982 as the least expensive rail-based transport solution for Manchester city centre and the surrounding Greater Manchester metropolitan area . Government approval was granted in 1988, and the network began operating services between Bury Interchange and Victoria on 6 April 1992. Metrolink became
6580-420: The 1980s. The history of passenger trams, streetcars and trolley systems, began in the early nineteenth century. It can be divided into several distinct periods defined by the principal means of power used. Precursors to the tramway included the wooden or stone wagonways that were used in central Europe to transport mine carts with unflanged wheels since the 1500s, and the paved limestone trackways designed by
6720-596: The Altrincham – Bury line and on other lines during peak hours. In December 2009, Metrolink took delivery of the first Bombardier M5000 tram. Built by Bombardier Transportation and Vossloh Kiepe , the initial eight M5000s were ordered to allow services to be increased. They are part of the Bombardier Flexity Swift range of light rail vehicles and have a design similar to the K5000 vehicle used on
6860-442: The Arena which was joined to the station by means of a raft above them. The Arena is accessed via stairs on Hunts Bank and from the station concourse. Following reconstruction, the platforms were renumbered; platforms 1 and 2 are bay platforms facing east (formerly platforms 9 and 10), and the through platforms are 3 to 6 (platform 3 was formerly platform 11). The through platforms are used by mid-distance services. In 2009, Victoria
7000-422: The Australian state of Queensland between 1909 and 1939. Stockholm , Sweden, had a steam tram line at the island of Södermalm between 1887 and 1901. Tram engines usually had modifications to make them suitable for street running in residential areas. The wheels, and other moving parts of the machinery, were usually enclosed for safety reasons and to make the engines quieter. Measures were often taken to prevent
7140-407: The British newspaper Newcastle Daily Chronicle reported that, "A large number of London's discarded horse tramcars have been sent to Lincolnshire where they are used as sleeping rooms for potato pickers ". Horses continued to be used for light shunting well into the 20th century, and many large metropolitan lines lasted into the early 20th century. New York City had a regular horsecar service on
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#17327725273347280-477: The Entertainment Centre, and work is progressing on further extensions. Sydney re-introduced trams (or light rail) on 31 August 1997. A completely new system, known as G:link , was introduced on the Gold Coast, Queensland , on 20 July 2014. The Newcastle Light Rail opened in February 2019, while the Canberra light rail opened on 20 April 2019. This is the first time that there have been trams in Canberra, even though Walter Burley Griffin 's 1914–1920 plans for
7420-416: The Irish coach builder John Stephenson , in New York City which began service in the year 1832. The New York and Harlem Railroad's Fourth Avenue Line ran along the Bowery and Fourth Avenue in New York City. It was followed in 1835 by the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad in New Orleans, Louisiana , which still operates as the St. Charles Streetcar Line . Other American cities did not follow until
7560-402: The L&YR decided to electrify this line using a unique 1,200 volt side-contact third rail system, in an effort to win back passengers. Electrification of this route was completed in 1916. As the scheme was a success, in the early 1920s the L&YR drew up plans to extend electrification to the Oldham Loop Line using the same system. The scheme progressed to an advanced stage, however with
7700-409: The Long Millgate area and was one of the biggest passenger stations in Britain. Victoria underwent several phases of expansion as traffic grew. In 1865, four bay platforms were built on the eastern side on land reclaimed from the cemetery, and another was built on the western side, a second through platform was built at the northern side, and the station's facilities were expanded by the construction of
7840-409: The M&LR, bought land at Hunt's Bank close to the cathedral and presented it to the company for the new station. The site was on the north bank of the River Irk , between the workhouse to the north which had opened in 1793 and Walker's Croft Cemetery to the south. After several years of negotiations between the companies, work started in 1842. The M&LR built an extension from Miles Platting to
7980-541: The Metrolink stop has four (four platform faces on three tracks). Two railway platforms are bays numbered 1 & 2 for terminating trains arriving from the east and four are through platforms numbered 3–6 at the northern side of the station. The Metrolink platforms are parallel to, and south of, the bay platforms. Only the bay and Metrolink platforms are under the new roof, the through platforms 4, 5 and 6 are mostly covered by Manchester Arena . The original M&LR single-storey offices facing Hunt's Bank Approach were built in
8120-430: The Netherlands. The first trams in Bendigo, Australia, in 1892, were battery-powered, but within as little as three months they were replaced with horse-drawn trams. In New York City some minor lines also used storage batteries. Then, more recently during the 1950s, a longer battery-operated tramway line ran from Milan to Bergamo . In China there is a Nanjing battery Tram line and has been running since 2014. In 2019,
8260-436: The North Sydney line from 1886 to 1900, and the King Street line from 1892 to 1905. In Dresden , Germany, in 1901 an elevated suspended cable car following the Eugen Langen one-railed floating tram system started operating. Cable cars operated on Highgate Hill in North London and Kennington to Brixton Hill in South London. They also worked around "Upper Douglas" in the Isle of Man from 1897 to 1929 (cable car 72/73
8400-463: The Romans for heavy horse and ox-drawn transportation. By the 1700s, paved plateways with cast iron rails were introduced in England for transporting coal, stone or iron ore from the mines to the urban factories and docks. The world's first passenger train or tram was the Swansea and Mumbles Railway , in Wales , UK. The British Parliament passed the Mumbles Railway Act in 1804, and horse-drawn service started in 1807. The service closed in 1827, but
8540-413: The Second Street Cable Railroad, which operated from 1885 to 1889, and the Temple Street Cable Railway, which operated from 1886 to 1898. From 1885 to 1940, the city of Melbourne , Victoria, Australia operated one of the largest cable systems in the world, at its peak running 592 trams on 75 kilometres (47 mi) of track. There were also two isolated cable lines in Sydney , New South Wales, Australia;
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#17327725273348680-468: The TOC), with only the hourly Liverpool - Newcastle and Manchester Airport - Saltburn calling here. Also since the May 2018 timetable change, services along the Calder Valley line have been significantly sped up. Stations between Rochdale and Manchester are now served by Blackburn services. This means that Calder Valley services now run non-stop between Rochdale and Manchester. As a result, there are now 6 trains an hour to Rochdale. Manchester Victoria
8820-562: The UK at Lytham St Annes , Trafford Park , Manchester (1897–1908) and Neath , Wales (1896–1920). Comparatively little has been published about gas trams. However, research on the subject was carried out for an article in the October 2011 edition of "The Times", the historical journal of the Australian Association of Timetable Collectors, later renamed the Australian Timetable Association. The world's first electric tram line operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg invented and tested by inventor Fyodor Pirotsky in 1875. Later, using
8960-410: The UK took passengers from Fintona railway station to Fintona Junction one mile away on the main Omagh to Enniskillen railway in Northern Ireland. The tram made its last journey on 30 September 1957 when the Omagh to Enniskillen line closed. The "van" is preserved at the Ulster Transport Museum . Horse-drawn trams still operate on the 1876-built Douglas Bay Horse Tramway on the Isle of Man , and at
9100-431: The United Kingdom's first modern street-running rail system; the 1885-built Blackpool tramway being the only first-generation tram system in the UK that had survived up to Metrolink's creation. Expansion of Metrolink has been a critical strategy of transport planners in Greater Manchester, who have overseen its development in successive projects, known as Phases 1, 2, 3a, 3b, 2CC, and Trafford Park. The latest extension,
9240-508: The advantages over earlier forms of transit was the low rolling resistance of metal wheels on steel rails, allowing the trams to haul a greater load for a given effort. Another factor which contributed to the rise of trams was the high total cost of ownership of horses. Electric trams largely replaced animal power in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Improvements in other vehicles such as buses led to decline of trams in early to mid 20th century. However, trams have seen resurgence since
9380-460: The busiest tram line in Europe, with a tram running once per minute at rush hour. Bucharest and Belgrade ran a regular service from 1894. Ljubljana introduced its tram system in 1901 – it closed in 1958. Oslo had the first tramway in Scandinavia , starting operation on 2 March 1894. The first electric tramway in Australia was a Sprague system demonstrated at the 1888 Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in Melbourne ; afterwards, this
9520-439: The capital then in the planning stage did propose a Canberra tram system. In Japan, the Kyoto Electric railroad was the first tram system, starting operation in 1895. By 1932, the network had grown to 82 railway companies in 65 cities, with a total network length of 1,479 km (919 mi). By the 1960s the tram had generally died out in Japan. Two rare but significant alternatives were conduit current collection , which
9660-458: The car up the hill at a steady pace, unlike a low-powered steam or horse-drawn car. Cable cars do have wheel brakes and track brakes , but the cable also helps restrain the car to going downhill at a constant speed. Performance in steep terrain partially explains the survival of cable cars in San Francisco. The San Francisco cable cars , though significantly reduced in number, continue to provide regular transportation service, in addition to being
9800-402: The cars to coast by inertia, for example when crossing another cable line. The cable then had to be "picked up" to resume progress, the whole operation requiring precise timing to avoid damage to the cable and the grip mechanism. Breaks and frays in the cable, which occurred frequently, required the complete cessation of services over a cable route while the cable was repaired. Due to overall wear,
9940-443: The cathedral was for many years used as a car park, until redevelopment of the site began in 2015. The station suffered bomb damage during the Manchester Blitz in World War II . On 23 December 1940, several bombs hit the station destroying the parcels office, and a large part of the roof over platforms 12 to 16. The parcels office was rebuilt, but the damaged parts of the roof were taken down and not replaced. The station came into
10080-465: The city's hurricane-prone location, which would have resulted in frequent damage to an electrical supply system. Although Portland, Victoria promotes its tourist tram as being a cable car it actually operates using a diesel motor. The tram, which runs on a circular route around the town of Portland, uses dummies and salons formerly used on the Melbourne cable tramway system and since restored. In
10220-493: The classic tramway built in the early 20th century with the tram system operating in mixed traffic, and the later type which is most often associated with the tram system having its own right of way. Tram systems that have their own right of way are often called light rail but this does not always hold true. Though these two systems differ in their operation, their equipment is much the same. Manchester Victoria station Manchester Victoria station in Manchester , England,
10360-416: The combined coal consumption of the stationary compressor and the onboard steam boiler. The Trieste–Opicina tramway in Trieste operates a hybrid funicular tramway system. Conventional electric trams are operated in street running and on reserved track for most of their route. However, on one steep segment of track, they are assisted by cable tractors, which push the trams uphill and act as brakes for
10500-489: The company began building its line between Manchester and Leeds in 1837. Originally its line terminated at Manchester Oldham Road , which opened on 3 July 1839. The company realised it would be advantageous to join its line to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR), creating a through route from Liverpool to Yorkshire with a joint station serving the centre of Manchester. In 1839, Samuel Brooks , vice-chairman of
10640-557: The concourse were restored during the 2013-15 renovation, they include the café with its glass dome and mosaic lettering which was originally the first-class dining room, the adjacent bookstall, and the original 1909 wood-panelled booking hall. In the entrance is a large, white glazed tiled map showing the former network of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Underneath the map is a bronze World War I war memorial with effigies of Saint George and Saint Michael at each end which
10780-679: The construction of a new 9-mile (14 km) Airport Line to Manchester Airport , and extending three of the Phase 3a lines: the East Manchester Line to Ashton-under-Lyne ; the South Manchester Line to East Didsbury ; and adding street-running routes through Oldham and Rochdale town centres to the Oldham and Rochdale Line . Construction work began in March 2011, and Phase 3b was completed in November 2014 with
10920-541: The conversion of two suburban heavy rail lines to light rail operation — the Bury Line in the north (conversion started in July 1991) and the MSJ&;AR line in the south (conversion started December 1991) — and the construction of a street-level tramway through the city centre to connect the two. Tracks were laid down along a 1.9-mile (3.1 km) route from Victoria station, via Market Street and St Peter's Square to
11060-679: The downhill run. For safety, the cable tractors are always deployed on the downhill side of the tram vehicle. Similar systems were used elsewhere in the past, notably on the Queen Anne Counterbalance in Seattle and the Darling Street wharf line in Sydney. In the mid-20th century many tram systems were disbanded, replaced by buses, trolleybuses , automobiles or rapid transit . The General Motors streetcar conspiracy
11200-446: The engines from emitting visible smoke or steam. Usually the engines used coke rather than coal as fuel to avoid emitting smoke; condensers or superheating were used to avoid emitting visible steam. A major drawback of this style of tram was the limited space for the engine, so that these trams were usually underpowered. Steam trams faded out around the 1890s to 1900s, being replaced by electric trams. Another motive system for trams
11340-429: The entire length of cable (typically several kilometres) had to be replaced on a regular schedule. After the development of reliable electrically powered trams, the costly high-maintenance cable car systems were rapidly replaced in most locations. Cable cars remained especially effective in hilly cities, since their nondriven wheels did not lose traction as they climbed or descended a steep hill. The moving cable pulled
11480-464: The expansion of the Metrolink network, it became necessary to build a new route across Manchester City Centre to alleviate congestion and improve capacity. Known as the Second City Crossing (or 2CC), the project involved laying 0.8 miles (1.3 km) of tram tracks from St Peter's Square tram stop via Princess Street, Albert Square , Cross Street and Corporation Street to rejoin the original Metrolink line just before Victoria station. One new tram stop
11620-439: The fact that any given animal could only work so many hours on a given day, had to be housed, groomed, fed and cared for day in and day out, and produced prodigious amounts of manure, which the streetcar company was charged with storing and then disposing. Since a typical horse pulled a streetcar for about a dozen miles a day and worked for four or five hours, many systems needed ten or more horses in stable for each horsecar. In 1905
11760-582: The former Bury Line platforms and the tram line was extended into the streets through a new entrance in the side of the station. In the 1980s and 90s, British Rail adopted a policy of concentrating Manchester services into Manchester Piccadilly . In 1989, the Windsor Link chord in Salford opened, enabling many of Victoria's services from the north to be diverted to Piccadilly and in the same year, trans- Pennine services were also transferred. Victoria
11900-467: The inauguration, GMPTE's original concept was for Metrolink's operator to provide a service every ten minutes from Bury to Piccadilly and Altrincham to Piccadilly from 06:00 to midnight, Monday to Saturday. Greater Manchester Metro Limited, the system's original operator, argued for adjustments, citing the need to provide an efficient and commercially viable operation in line with vehicle running times and passenger demand. Due to power limitations, this pattern
12040-551: The late 19th and early 20th centuries a number of systems in various parts of the world employed trams powered by gas, naphtha gas or coal gas in particular. Gas trams are known to have operated between Alphington and Clifton Hill in the northern suburbs of Melbourne , Australia (1886–1888); in Berlin and Dresden , Germany; in Estonia (1921–1951); between Jelenia Góra , Cieplice , and Sobieszów in Poland (from 1897); and in
12180-402: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. There was one particular hazard associated with trams powered from a trolley pole off an overhead line on the early electrified systems. Since the tram relies on contact with the rails for the current return path, a problem arises if the tram is derailed or (more usually) if it halts on a section of track that has been heavily sanded by a previous tram, and
12320-497: The line through Oldham to Rochdale was converted during 2009–2014. In the other direction, trams switch to on-street running when they emerge from Victoria Station and continue southwards through the city centre to Piccadilly or Deansgate-Castlefield. In 2009, Victoria was voted the worst category B interchange station in the United Kingdom. The station underwent a two-year £44 million modernisation programme which
12460-534: The necessity of overhead wire and a trolley pole for street cars and railways. While at the University of Denver he conducted experiments which established that multiple unit powered cars were a better way to operate trains and trolleys. Electric tramways spread to many European cities in the 1890s, such as: Sarajevo built a citywide system of electric trams in 1895. Budapest established its tramway system in 1887, and its ring line has grown to be
12600-587: The need for costly tunnelling works . A Rail Study Group, composed of officials from British Rail, GMC and GMPTE formally endorsed the Project Light Rail scheme in 1984. Initial abstract proposals, based on light rail systems in North America and continental Europe , illustrated a draft 62-mile (100 km) network consisting of three lines: Altrincham – Hadfield / Glossop , Bury – Marple / Rose Hill and Rochdale – East Didsbury . To promote
12740-555: The official reopening that October. The Ordsall Chord was finished in 2017 and links Victoria to Piccadilly. It is anticipated that, after re-routeing services, passenger numbers would increase to 12 million by 2019, compared with 6.6 million in 2011/12. The chord allows trains to run directly between Piccadilly and Victoria, shortening journey times on TransPennine Express routes between Manchester Airport and Newcastle, Redcar, Hull and Scarborough. An express service from Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle via Victoria
12880-533: The oldest operating electric tramway in the world. Also in 1883, Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram was opened near Vienna in Austria. It was the first tram in the world in regular service that was run with electricity served by an overhead line with pantograph current collectors . The Blackpool Tramway was opened in Blackpool, UK on 29 September 1885 using conduit collection along Blackpool Promenade. This system
13020-530: The other calling at Newton-le-Willows ). The other pair of services run westbound to Manchester Airport via the Ordsall Chord and Manchester Piccadilly . Eastbound, there are 4 trains per hour running via Huddersfield , Leeds and York . After York, one train an hour ran to each of Edinburgh , Newcastle , Redcar Central and Scarborough. From the winter 2023 timetable change, the service has been somewhat reduced (due to ongoing staffing issues at
13160-487: The ownership of British Railways in 1948. Proposals to build an underground station, Victoria Low Level as part of the Picc-Vic tunnel project emerged in the early-1970s. The scheme proposed creating a direct rail link between Victoria and Manchester Piccadilly via a tunnel and creating several underground stations in Manchester city centre . Platforms 1–4 at Victoria were taken out of use in 1973 in anticipation of
13300-637: The poor paving of the streets in American cities which made them unsuitable for horsebuses , which were then common on the well-paved streets of European cities. Running the horsecars on rails allowed for a much smoother ride. There are records of a street railway running in Baltimore as early as 1828, however the first authenticated streetcar in America, was the New York and Harlem Railroad developed by
13440-717: The reorganisations of railway companies in the 1920s, the new management had no interest in pursuing the scheme and it was dropped. This meant that the Bury Line remained as the only electrified line into Victoria, and it remained as such until 1991 when it was closed to be converted into part of the Metrolink system. No further electrification came to Victoria until the 21st century, when as part of Network Rail 's Northern Hub scheme, overhead electric wires have been erected to Victoria from Manchester to Liverpool in 2015, and Manchester to Preston and through to Blackpool in 2019. Manchester Victoria has six railway platforms and
13580-541: The rest of the network as the system has grown. Heavy snowfall during the winter of 2009/10 impaired Metrolink services and the operator was criticised for failing to have cold weather procedures. This prompted a programme to improve the reliability and performance of the system in freezing conditions. Metrolink operated icebreaker -style vehicles at night during snowfall in January 2013 to provide standard services. In January 2016, Transport for Greater Manchester agreed on
13720-448: The rest of the network. Enabling works began in January 2017, and the first test tram ran in November 2019 between Pomona and Village . The line finally opened on 22 March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the UK on the second day of operation overshadowed news of the new line's opening, leading to it not getting much ridership after the lockdown ended. via Exchange Square Before
13860-624: The rounded corner at the south-east end. The ground floor windows have rounded heads and those on the floors above are square. The ornate glass and iron canopy along the façade displays the names of destinations that the station served in Art Nouveau lettering. The canopy was damaged by the Provisional IRA 's 1996 bomb placed in a street adjacent to the Arndale Centre and was restored four years later. Heritage features in
14000-511: The route and adding several new stops as well, re-opening a disused 1.7-mile (2.7 km) section of the Cheshire Lines Committee railway to use as the first part of the South Manchester Line (up to St Werburgh's Road ), and building a new 4-mile (6.4 km) East Manchester Line as far as Droylsden . When completed in 2013, Phase 3a increased Metrolink's total network length to 43 miles (69 km). Phase 3b involved
14140-516: The scheme, GMPTE held a public proof of concept demonstration in March 1987 using a Docklands Light Railway P86 train on a freight-only line adjacent to Debdale Park . The Project Light Rail proposals were presented to the UK Government for taxpayer funding; following route revisions in 1984 and 1987, Project Light Rail was approved. Because of the central government's constraints on financial support for innovative transport projects, funding
14280-493: The service frequency on all routes was increased to 10 minutes during peak times and 20 minutes off-peak Monday–Saturday, and every 15 minutes on Sundays. Normal service was reintroduced on 5 July 2021, although temporarily removed in late August 2021 due the number of staff having to self isolate. The two enhanced service routes at the time: Altrincham–Bury direct and Shaw and Crompton–East Didsbury resumed on 31 August and 6 September 2021 respectively. As of 2022, Metrolink operated
14420-546: The station from Liverpool to Newcastle/Scarborough and services towards Manchester Airport (via the Ordsall Chord) from Middlesbrough/Redcar/Newcastle. Manchester Victoria is a major interchange for the Metrolink light rail system. Two former railway lines into the station have been converted to tram operations: the line to Bury was converted in the early 1990s, in the first phase of Metrolink construction, and
14560-402: The station was enlarged with extra bay platforms to the south. The present station façade, designed by William Dawes, was built in 1909. The cast-iron train sheds behind the façade were 700 yards (640 m) long. Because the station handled large amounts of parcel and newspaper traffic, an overhead parcels carrier system was constructed in 1895. It consisted of an overhead track which ran in
14700-523: The station which opened on 1 January 1844. On this date, the Oldham Road terminus was closed to passenger services and became a goods station. The new station had a 852 ft (260 m) long single platform which handled M&LR trains to Leeds and elsewhere at its eastern end. The L&MR extended its line from Ordsall to Victoria and its trains operated from the western end from 4 May 1844, on which date its Liverpool Road station terminus became
14840-528: The street running section to Eccles Interchange was completed. The Broadway–Eccles section was opened on 21 July 2000, and the complete line was officially opened by Princess Anne on 9 January 2001. The Phase 3 extension project, nicknamed the "Big Bang", was promoted by GMPTE and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) in the early 2000s. The project, costing £489 million (£1040 million in 2023), would create four new lines:
14980-542: The suburban tramway lines around Milan and Padua ; the last Gamba de Legn ("Peg-Leg") tramway ran on the Milan- Magenta -Castano Primo route in late 1957. The other style of steam tram had the steam engine in the body of the tram, referred to as a tram engine (UK) or steam dummy (US). The most notable system to adopt such trams was in Paris. French-designed steam trams also operated in Rockhampton , in
15120-558: The tracks. Siemens later designed his own version of overhead current collection, called the bow collector . One of the first systems to use it was in Thorold, Ontario , opened in 1887, and it was considered quite successful. While this line proved quite versatile as one of the earliest fully functional electric streetcar installations, it required horse-drawn support while climbing the Niagara Escarpment and for two months of
15260-416: The tram and completing the earth return circuit with their body could receive a serious electric shock. If "grounded", the driver was required to jump off the tram (avoiding simultaneous contact with the tram and the ground) and pull down the trolley pole, before allowing passengers off the tram. Unless derailed, the tram could usually be recovered by running water down the running rails from a point higher than
15400-466: The tram loses electrical contact with the rails. In this event, the underframe of the tram, by virtue of a circuit path through ancillary loads (such as interior lighting), is live at the full supply voltage, typically 600 volts DC. In British terminology, such a tram was said to be 'grounded'—not to be confused with the US English use of the term, which means the exact opposite. Any person stepping off
15540-427: The tram, the water providing a conducting bridge between the tram and the rails. With improved technology, this ceased to be an problem. In the 2000s, several companies introduced catenary-free designs: Alstom's Citadis line uses a third rail, Bombardier's PRIMOVE LRV is charged by contactless induction plates embedded in the trackway and CAF URBOS tram uses ultracaps technology As early as 1834, Thomas Davenport ,
15680-563: The tunnel coming to the surface in that part of the station. The tunnel project was cancelled in the late 1970s because of high costs, and in the 1980s transport planners turned to light rail as a lower-cost option. As a result, the stations were linked by the Manchester Metrolink system which opened in 1992. A street-level tramway was built across the city centre linking the stations and two converted rail lines to Altrincham and Bury . The tram stop at Victoria replaced
15820-804: The wider term light rail , which also includes systems separated from other traffic. Tram vehicles are usually lighter and shorter than main line and rapid transit trains. Most trams use electrical power, usually fed by a pantograph sliding on an overhead line ; older systems may use a trolley pole or a bow collector . In some cases, a contact shoe on a third rail is used. If necessary, they may have dual power systems—electricity in city streets and diesel in more rural environments. Occasionally, trams also carry freight . Some trams, known as tram-trains , may have segments that run on mainline railway tracks, similar to interurban systems. The differences between these modes of rail transport are often indistinct, and systems may combine multiple features. One of
15960-409: The winter when hydroelectricity was not available. It continued in service in its original form into the 1950s. Sidney Howe Short designed and produced the first electric motor that operated a streetcar without gears. The motor had its armature direct-connected to the streetcar 's axle for the driving force. Short pioneered "use of a conduit system of concealed feed" thereby eliminating
16100-532: The world's first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle tramcar at an assembly facility in Qingdao . The chief engineer of the CSR subsidiary CSR Sifang Co Ltd. , Liang Jianying, said that the company is studying how to reduce the running costs of the tram. Trams have been used for two main purposes: for carrying passengers and for carrying cargo. There are several types of passenger tram: There are two main types of tramways,
16240-401: The world. Earlier electric trains proved difficult or unreliable and experienced limited success until the second half of the 1880s, when new types of current collectors were developed. Siemens' line, for example, provided power through a live rail and a return rail, like a model train , limiting the voltage that could be used, and delivering electric shocks to people and animals crossing
16380-682: Was a case study of the decline of trams in the United States. In the 21st century, trams have been re-introduced in cities where they had been closed down for decades (such as Tramlink in London), or kept in heritage use (such as Spårväg City in Stockholm). Most trams made since the 1990s (such as the Bombardier Flexity series and Alstom Citadis ) are articulated low-floor trams with features such as regenerative braking . In March 2015, China South Rail Corporation (CSR) demonstrated
16520-420: Was abandoned in 1977. The Centreline shuttle bus service provided inter-station links for many years. The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE), the successor to SELNEC, continued to examine possible rail link solutions. Light rail emerged in the early 1980s as a cost-effective option that could make use of existing railway lines and run through the city centre at street level, eliminating
16660-592: Was arranged. On 16 February 2010, Network Rail announced its intention to refurbish the station as part of the Northern Hub improvement proposals turning it into an interchange for local and regional services throughout north-west England. In August 2010, Network Rail announced the work would go ahead, despite the withdrawal of the £5 million funding. Station improvements included an ETFE roof, restoration of its walls, exterior canopy and period features, new platforms for additional services, improved access to
16800-603: Was built at Exchange Square . The project also involved re-ordering St Peter's Square and re-siting the Cenotaph to accommodate an enlarged tram interchange and junction. Construction began in 2014, and the 2CC route opened fully in February 2017. The Transport & Works Act Order for the 3.4 mile (5.4 km) Trafford Park Line was granted in October 2016. This new line includes six tram stops, including, but not limited to,
16940-491: Was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. This was the world's first commercially successful electric tram. It drew current from the rails at first, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. In Britain, Volk's Electric Railway was opened in 1883 in Brighton. This two kilometer line along the seafront, re-gauged to 2 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 825 mm ) in 1884, remains in service as
17080-466: Was closed. Trolleybuses were withdrawn from service in 1966. Greater Manchester's railway network historically suffered from poor north–south connections because Manchester's main railway stations, Piccadilly and Victoria , were built in the 1840s on peripheral locations outside Manchester city centre . The central commercial district had no rail links, and over the years, several unsuccessful schemes were proposed to connect Manchester's rail termini. In
17220-459: Was completed in August 2015. Renovation entailed electrification of lines through the station, renewed Metrolink stop with an additional platform, restoration of listed features, upgraded retail units, and a new roof. The Ordsall Chord directly linking Victoria to Oxford Road and Piccadilly was completed in December 2017. The Manchester and Leeds Railway (M&LR) was founded in 1836 and
17360-621: Was extended into the city-centre streets via a sharp curve south from the platform ends and out through a new entrance in the wall at the side of the station; The system operates on some British Rail lines that have been converted to light rail operation and on-street tram tracks. In October 2009 the Oldham Loop Line was closed for conversion to a Metrolink line. It was completed in March 2014 after reopening in stages to Rochdale town centre . The 1992 Metrolink platforms consisted of an island platform containing platforms B and C, and
17500-503: Was funded by the GMPTA , the ERDF and private developers. It was constructed 1997–99 by Altram (a consortium of Serco , Ansaldo and John Laing ) and six new AnsaldoBreda T-68A trams were bought to operate services on the line, but were also used in other locations across the network. The line was inaugurated by Prime Minister Tony Blair on 6 December 1999 as far as Broadway tram stop as
17640-538: Was funded separately by the Northwest Regional Development Agency . As part of Phase 3, the original blue T-68 trams were also phased out and replaced with a new fleet of Bombardier M5000 trams, which entered service in December 2009. Beginning in October 2009 with the closure of the 14-mile (23 km) Oldham Loop heavy rail line , Phase 3a involved converting this line to light rail operation , including rebuilding all stations on
17780-629: Was granted by HM Treasury with the strict condition that the system be constructed in phases. Additional taxpayer funding came from the European Regional Development Fund and bank lending. Parliamentary authority to proceed with Phase 1 construction was obtained with two Acts of Parliament – the Greater Manchester (Light Rapid Transit System) Act 1988 and Greater Manchester (Light Rapid Transit System) (No. 2) Act 1988. The first phase of Metrolink involved
17920-482: Was identified as the worst category B interchange station because of its dilapidated fabric and environment. The Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis , announced that, with nine others, it would receive a share of £50 million for a refurbishment programme. Victoria's £5 million share of the 'Better Stations' Network Rail funding for improvements was cancelled in the June 2010 budget cuts, but replacement funding
18060-574: Was initially scheduled to open in September 1991, but services did not begin until 1992, when the Bury Line of the Metrolink opened from Victoria station to Bury Interchange on 6 April. The first street-level trams began running on 27 April between Victoria and G-Mex (renamed Deansgate-Castlefield in 2010), and the Altrincham Line opened on 15 June from G-Mex to Altrincham . The branch to Piccadilly station opened on 20 July. Metrolink
18200-487: Was installed as a commercial venture operating between the outer Melbourne suburb of Box Hill and the then tourist-oriented country town Doncaster from 1889 to 1896. Electric systems were also built in Adelaide , Ballarat , Bendigo , Brisbane , Fremantle , Geelong , Hobart , Kalgoorlie , Launceston , Leonora , Newcastle , Perth , and Sydney . By the 1970s, the only full tramway system remaining in Australia
18340-546: Was installed in 1923. At the south end of the concourse is the 'soldier's gate' which opened to the former fish docks from where thousands of soldiers departed for World War I and where a bronze plaque was erected to commemorate them. The gateway was restored in 2015 and a steel screen inserted featuring a map of World War I Commonwealth grave cemeteries in Northern France and Belgium. The station received Grade II listed building status in 1988. Manchester Victoria
18480-427: Was introduced in 1901, and the municipal Manchester Corporation Tramways expanded across the city. By 1930, Manchester's tram network had grown to 163 route miles (262 km), making it the third-largest tram system in the United Kingdom. After World War II , electric trolleybuses and motor buses began to be favoured by local authorities as a cheaper transport alternative, and by 1949 the last Manchester tram line
18620-411: Was modified to a twelve-minute service throughout the day, doubling to a six-minute service in peak periods, resulting in a "ten trams per hour" service pattern on routes running from Altrincham and Bury to Manchester every six minutes. Operators were required to provide this level of service at least 98% of the time or incur a financial penalty charge. This twelve-minute service pattern has been adopted on
18760-402: Was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 July 1992. In Phase 2, the Metrolink network was extended westwards to Eccles along the new 4-mile (6.4 km) Eccles Line , as part of the 1990s urban regeneration of Salford Quays , increasing the total Metrolink route length to 24 miles (39 km). The extension cost £160 million (equivalent to £340 million in 2023) and
18900-428: Was reduced to six platforms, and part was sold for development. Between 1992 and 1994, the Manchester Arena was built over the northern part of the station site. Three of the five through tracks between platforms 11 and 12 were removed, along with platforms 12–17. The station was reduced to four through tracks and four through platforms, three of which were built to replace the removed platforms 12–14. They are covered by
19040-566: Was restarted in 1860, again using horses. It was worked by steam from 1877, and then, from 1929, by very large (106-seat) electric tramcars, until closure in 1960. The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was something of a one-off however, and no street tramway appeared in Britain until 1860 when one was built in Birkenhead by the American George Francis Train . Street railways developed in America before Europe, due to
19180-628: Was tested in San Francisco , in 1873. Part of its success is attributed to the development of an effective and reliable cable grip mechanism, to grab and release the moving cable without damage. The second city to operate cable trams was Dunedin , from 1881 to 1957. The most extensive cable system in the US was built in Chicago in stages between 1859 and 1892. New York City developed multiple cable car lines, that operated from 1883 to 1909. Los Angeles also had several cable car lines, including
19320-635: Was the Melbourne tram system. However, there were also a few single lines remaining elsewhere: the Glenelg tram line , connecting Adelaide to the beachside suburb of Glenelg , and tourist trams in the Victorian Goldfields cities of Bendigo and Ballarat. In recent years the Melbourne system, generally recognised as the largest urban tram network in the world, has been considerably modernised and expanded. The Adelaide line has been extended to
19460-411: Was the cable car, which was pulled along a fixed track by a moving steel cable, the cable usually running in a slot below the street level. The power to move the cable was normally provided at a "powerhouse" site a distance away from the actual vehicle. The London and Blackwall Railway , which opened for passengers in east London, England, in 1840 used such a system. The first practical cable car line
19600-830: Was widely used in London, Washington, D.C., and New York City, and the surface contact collection method, used in Wolverhampton (the Lorain system), Torquay and Hastings in the UK (the Dolter stud system), and in Bordeaux , France (the ground-level power supply system). The convenience and economy of electricity resulted in its rapid adoption once the technical problems of production and transmission of electricity were solved. Electric trams largely replaced animal power and other forms of motive power including cable and steam, in
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