Early opening planned for Second City Crossing
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is aiming to open the £165 million Second City Crossing earlier than planned.
It had been expected that the Manchester Metrolink extension would open next summer. But TfGM said that contractor M-Pact Thales (MPT), working closely with utility companies and TfGM, would be able to complete the project ahead of schedule through collaborative management and mitigation of construction work.
The latest milestone for the 2CC scheme was marked on September 13, when the final rails were laid. Main construction work for the Metrolink expansion is now expected to be complete before Christmas.
The first phase of the route, from Victoria Station to a new stop at Exchange Square, opened last December following a grant from the European Regional Development Fund.
Work still to be completed includes installing the overhead line equipment. Challenges the project team have faced included a collapsed Victorian sewer and double the number of anticipated exhumations after a former church graveyard was discovered at Cross Street.
There will be a thorough testing and commissioning phase early next year, after which passenger services begin.
TfGM Committee Chairman Andrew Fender said: “It’s great to see these final sections of rail laid - one of the final jigsaw pieces in the puzzle.
“Since the Second City Crossing programme began we’ve seen a huge increase in Metrolink use across the network, from 27 million to 35 million passenger journeys a year. The need for a new line through the city has never been more pressing.”
The 2CC route leaves Victoria station and travels along Corporation Street to a new stop at Exchange Square. Trams will continue along Cross Street and Princess Street to run through a new stop recently completed in St Peter’s Square.