Hidden Metrolink

If the trams and trains serving Altrincham are to remain hidden from the public ( Open Access, RAIL 840), at the very least there should be a banner sign running along the top of the glass interchange structure saying “trams, buses and trains to various destinations”. Otherwise it looks like a bus station.

How much better it would have been for the trams to terminate outside in Stamford New Road, as their forebears did.

Everything possible needs to be done to encourage commuters to think public transport instead of roads, especially where those roads closely parallel tram services. Let the cat see the canary! Transit presence works wonders.

Many other Metrolink tram stops are also well hidden from the public. Examples include:

Didsbury Village - completely unsignposted and invisible from the town centre, even though it’s so close at hand.

Trafford Bar - hardly identifiable as a tram stop from the adjacent busy crossroads.

Stretford - convincingly disguised as a convenience store and taxi office, without prominent signposting from the nearby town centre.

Chorlton - completely unsignposted from the town centre and hardly visible to passers-by.

Piccadilly undercroft - inaccessible and unsignposted from London Road, and unsignposted from Fairfield Street at its junction with London Road.

Finally, the A56, where it parallels Metrolink, needs prominent signage drawing attention to the frequent tram services nearby.

I’ve tried hard to bring these matters to the attention of the relevant local authorities and Transport for Greater Manchester. The local authorities say it’s TfGM’s responsibility, and TfGM says it’s a matter for the local authorities! David Holt, Manchester