Testing begins of new Manchester trams
Testing of the first of 27 new Bombardier/Kiepe Electric M5000 trams has begun at Queens Road depot, Manchester, ahead of it entering service before Christmas. The trams were ordered in 2018 in a £72 million deal. They are being built in Vienna and deliveries will take place every three to four weeks. Metrolink wants them to lengthen services in the short term to help with social distancing, before using them to boost capacity in the long term. The first tram is moved from a low-loader, having arrived from Austria.