Tram users facing 13-day line closure
ECCLES ROUTE TO SHUT FOR ALMOST TWO WEEKS FOR WORKS ON NEW TRAFFORD PARK LINE
THE Eccles Metrolink line will close for nearly a fortnight for works on the new route to the Trafford Centre.
Transport bosses say engineers need to carry out works at Pomona which will require a shutdown of the route between Eccles and Cornbrook.
The 13-day closure will last from the end of July to mid-August, when replacement buses will run instead of trams.
Alex Cropper, TfGM’s head of projects, said: “We will be running a comprehensive communications campaign to keep local residents, businesses and customers informed about the closure and the alternative travel arrangements that will be in place. We have planned the work during the summer holidays to minimise the impact on our customers.
“The operator KeolisAmey Metrolink will also carry out other works at the same time to reduce future disruptions to service.
“We will ensure customers can still get to where they want to go and I would encourage them to visit our website or social media channels nearer the time for the latest information and advice.”
He said they recognised disruption of this nature was not ‘ideal,’ adding: “But condensing the majority of the works into a single 13-day closure, rather than over many weekends, will enable us to best deliver the next exciting phase of the Trafford Park Line, which will ultimately improve public transport access to the jobs, leisure, shopping and cultural destinations along the route.” The £350m Trafford Park line is due for completion in 2020. The line is the first big project to benefit from the devolution deal – the handing over of more power to the region’s leaders. Alex Cropper
It is this that unlocked the cash – along with £20m from Trafford council – to make Trafford Park Metrolink a reality.
When finished, the line will feature six new tram stops at key spots, including the Trafford Centre, EventCity, the Imperial War Museum North, Manchester United’s Old Trafford and Trafford Park, Europe’s biggest trading estate and home to 35,000 workers.
Because the route is mostly off-road, it is aimed at easing congestion.
Services will eventually run from the Trafford Centre through Manchester city centre to an improved stop at Crumpsall – but works will be carried out in a ‘patchwork’ fashion across the area depending on which sections of land are ready first.