Railway Forum - Manchester Metrolink South Manchester Line Open From Tomorrow (7/7/11)

At long last, a not so new route opens! After two days of running a full ghost service for testing which went flawlessly, it shall open tomorrow. The majority of route maps at stops were updated today. To work with the new signalling system, all trams will be the new M5000s (Bananas). Services will run from Victoria to St Werbergh's Road every 12 minutes. During testing, vehicles were turning just north of Queen's Road Depot. A very exciting time for Metrolink!
I shall update with any more info as I learn more.
Shall be having a nosy down there for the first time tomorrow, Wish I could be on the first passenger service (Which departs Vic at 0558) but unfortunately, I'll be travelling to work at that time.

D :)

From LRTA:
The route uses three kilometres of the former CLC railway to Chorlton; where the track bed was in a cutting which passed under the Altrincham line and several roads. The last passenger train ran on 2 January 1967, although there was a freight line here until the late 1980s. Clearance work started on 2 October 2008.

From Metrolink TFGM website:
Passengers will be able to travel on Metrolink’s new Chorlton line from Thursday 7 July.

Services will initially run every 12 minutes from service start to service end, Monday to Saturday. The Sunday 12-minute service runs between 9am and 5.30pm, with a 15-minute service from 6.58-9am and 5.30-10.52pm.

The journey time from St Werburgh’s Road to St Peter’s Square is approximately 15 minutes.

To find your fare, user our ticket selector.

Tram times are: 5.58am-11.52pm (Mon-Thurs); 5.58am-00.52am (Fri & Sat); 6.58am-10.52pm on Sundays.

Councillor Andrew Fender, Chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, said: “I am absolutely delighted to be able to announce the start of services on the Chorlton line.

“It is both an historic occasion and a sign of the exciting future in store for the network, as we continue our £1.4 billion expansion – the single biggest investment in public transport outside of London.

“Residents and businesses have been eagerly awaiting this news and I would like to thank them for their patience, understanding and continued support while we completed the essential testing and commissioning.

“I would also pass on my thanks and appreciation to all of our existing Metrolink passengers. Investment on this scale is bound to cause some disruption somewhere and I want to thank them for their patience too.”

The new line forms part of a £1.4 billion investment in Metrolink, which will provide new lines and new trams for a network that will be three times the size it is now.

Further lines are being delivered through Oldham and on to Rochdale, to Ashton-under-Lyne via Droylsden, from the Chorlton line to East Didsbury, and to Manchester Airport via Wythenshawe. A second line across the city centre is also being developed.

http://www.lrta.org/Manchester/City_South.html
http://www.metrolink.co.uk/stationin...rlton-line.asp