Manchester Metrolink master thread

[northwichcat]

The matches and other events don't usually coincide with commuter peaks so there should be both the capacity and the spare vehicles to run extras.

For a Saturday afternoon match the tram frequency would be exactly the same as a weekday peak service. Although they'll probably be less doubled up trams on Altrincham-Bury services than during a weekday peak.

If it's an evening match the MediaCity shuttle will have ended (with Eccles trams going via MediaCity) or if it's a Sunday or Bank Holiday match then the Altrincham-Bury services won't be operating.

 

[Starmill]

While I was under the impression that they do indeed run up to four additional doubles for the Etihad games, I'm not sure how this works for Old Trafford ones. I think that the crossover there is still out of action, so do they still park doubles (had to be T68s until now of course) at Timperley and Altrincham's spare platform to send down when the match finishes?

Today has been a very good day indeed by the way... Lots of double M5000 sets out on the Altrincham to Bury service, plus I think two double T68s. No idea of actual numbers, but this could potentially mean 9/10 Bury-Alt diagrams on doubles! As a result, T68 singles and, strangely, 2003 were working the Pic-Alt (usually ALL single M5000s!) and some Eccles services!

 

[D841 Roebuck]

I sampled 2003 earlier on the Alty service.

Most amusing on the way home to Rochdale. Normally, if a tram and train set off simultaneously from Victoria up the hill, the tram shows a clean pair of heels. However, tonight's drag race included 43013/062 on the high speed track recording thingy, which blasted past 3050 well before the latter reached the tunnel...

 

[Manchester77]

Doubles seem to be operating in the peaks on the ORL - SML services before uncoupling and running all singles off peak

 

[Starmill]

According to Bradfordian2 of SSC (who usually knows this sort of thing) Today's 10 Alti-Bury duties were covered by:

• 7 double M5000s (Woo!)
• 1 double T68
• 1 single T68
• 1 single M500

If true, not bloody bad!!!!!

 

[D841 Roebuck]

According to Bradfordian2 of SSC (who usually knows this sort of thing) Today's 10 Alti-Bury duties were covered by:

• 7 double M5000s (Woo!)
• 1 double T68
• 1 single T68
• 1 single M500

If true, not bloody bad!!!!!

The single M500 was 3038 and the T68 was Firebrand (1012 - which always turns up whenever I've used the metro!)

 

[familyguy99]

Metrolink website have been update with new time info and Map to East Didsbury without Mosley Street stop

http://www.metrolink.co.uk/stationinfo/Pages/East-Didsbury.aspx

http://www.metrolink.co.uk/stationinfo/Documents/Route_Map.pdf

Also Double trams have been on ORL this Morning until midday I believe but good news for us Oldhamers having extra carriage on trams.

 

[ValleyLines142]

00:52 Mosley Street now closed no more trams will call at it. The last Altrincham tram has just left an end of an era begining of a new one

Does anyone know what tram did the honours of the very last service?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Just found out it was 3018

 

[table38]

There is a speeded up cab ride video of the new East Didsbury extension in today's article on the MEN website at http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/destination-didsbury-metrolink-trams-start-4001522

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I wonder how many of the RailUK and the SSC forum members were up at the crack of dawn to ride on the first tram to East Didsbury this morning ?

 

[dggar]

I wonder how many of the RailUK and the SSC forum members were up at the crack of dawn to ride on the first tram to East Didsbury this morning ?

My guess would be:- The Usual Suspects

 

[jonesy3001]

Looking at the pics on SSC, the usual bunch.

 

[northwichcat]

Metrolink update currently for the Altrincham line:
"However due to the earlier withdrawal of a tram, some passengers may wait an additional 12 minutes to board a tram"

It seems a strange way to word it with a faulty, defective or broken down tram being more common jargon, especially when Metrolink are talking about withdrawing their T68 trams.

 

[familyguy99]

Haven't been on Didsbury line let (I waiting to weekend so I can buy weekend ticket) but here tram going past Freehold stop with "East Didsbury" on front of it.


Metrolink 3025 tram

Ticket machine at Freehold stop with all 5 new Metrolink stop on Didsbury line.


Burton Road ticket machine


East Didsbury on ticket machine


Didsbury village on ticket machine


West Didsbury on ticket machine


Withington on ticket machine

Also map with Didsbury line on it


Map with line to Didsbury

 

[Stonesourscotty]

Trams struggled with the loadings at the etihad yesterday even when there wasnt a full attendance on.

 

[northwichcat]

Trams struggled with the loadings at the etihad yesterday even when there wasnt a full attendance on.

Hardly a surprise. They struggle with loadings on some of the Lancashire CCC match days and when there are evening events on at MediaCity or The Lowry when people are leaving after the MediaCity shuttles have finished for the day and it's the Eccles trams serving MediaCity.

 

[Manchester77]

Yesterday trams were operating as follows.
Altrincham - Piccadilly: All double M5000s
Bury - Droylsden: 2 double M5000s, rest single M5000s
Eccles - Piccadilly: all single T68s
East Didsbury - Rochdale: all single M5000s

Seems that they were focusing on the run more than the eastlands events

 

[323235]

Why weren't all the doubles on Bury-Droylsden? Was there something equally big on at Old Trafford?

I know the city centre has been pretty busy this weekend, my train home on Saturday which is usually about 40-50% was between 90-110%. They could still have made more of a move towards catering for the Stadium crowd though surely, especially given the discounts they were giving to travellers to tempt them on the system.

 

[Manchester77]

Yesterday when I was out on the Altrincham line the doubles were all full and standing full of marathon people. It looked to me as if they were needed all doubles.

Because they wouldn't have enough trams.

 

[Midlandman]

Sunday was a little busy. On Saturday (we had weekend tickets) we travelled from Navigation Road on a tram that was allegedly destined for Victoria (but whose destination changed to Bury after a comedy interlude at Deansgate-Castlefield when we were treated to a much speeded-up recital of various 'next stations' between Altrincham and Manchester.
On Sunday we were heading for Bury. A Bury tram left Piccadilly Gardens just as we stopped (thanks, guys) and we resigned ourselves to a 12 minute wait for the next. So I was surprised to see 'Bury 3 minutes' on the PID. Sure enough, at the said time, a double M5000 arrived, but only going to Victoria according to the blind. Ah, we thought., this happened yesterday, so we'll get on and see if it changes. It didn't. This was a Victoria - Etihad Campus shuttle for the Rugby League Magic Weekend (One other double was running from Bury to the stadium). We asked two Metrolink guys who were in our carriage to help with crowd control why the platform PID said 'Bury' and, after a bit of thought, one said that he thought the codes were the same. Surely they can't have run out already?
ALL trams we used on Sunday were VERY full.

 

[Manchester77]

The reason why the PIDs will have said Bury is (according to Freel) the TMS code gets changes on the PIS onboard but because the PIDs basically operate to the timetable but when there's disruption or changes in the regular pattern of service the TMS timetable needs updating which isn't done so you have two conflicting types of information

 

[Midlandman]

Hmmm. As someone who used to make a living testing for unexpected little bugs like this in IT systems, I'd expect someone to have a word with me if something like that happened,

 

[Manchester77]

It's not a bug though. When timetables are amended for pre planned reasons the TMS timetable should be too

 

[northwichcat]

Yesterday when I was out on the Altrincham line the doubles were all full and standing full of marathon people.

Why weren't all the doubles on Bury-Droylsden? Was there something equally big on at Old Trafford?

There were also no trains between Altrincham and Manchester on Sunday due to engineering works so people from Northwich, Knutsford and Hale who would have got the train to Manchester were instead using Metrolink.

 

[rebmcr]

On Sunday the service around 11:30 from Burton Road was filling up and standing after Chorlton, all shopper traffic by the look of it.

Then in the evening I omitted to remember the last times correctly and turned up to Market Street at 22:30. Took me around half an hour of wondering why all the services listed on the PID as "East Didsbury" 15 minutes apart were cruising past "Not in service" with no tannoy announcements.

Plenty of people on the platform were similarly perplexed, so it probably needs to be adjusted.

 

[Midlandman]

It's not a bug though. When timetables are amended for pre planned reasons the TMS timetable should be too

If it's that easy to create a difference between tram destination sign and PID, then in my book that's a bug. I suggest that in a properly run system, it should be impossible to update the timetable without updating the TMS.

My real point is that this is another one of those little glitches which go to make public transport in this country so annoying. I know my way around Metrolink so could guess what was happening, but a lady on our tram, who was en route from London to Bury, was thoroughly confused and obviously not inclined to trust the machinery. She wasn't going to get on another tram without asking someone if it was the one she really wanted.

It's all very well knowing what causes such mismatches of information, but they detract from the user-friendliness of the system. As well as IT, I have worked in public transport and I know well that it can be very hard to get people out of their cars. Conversely it only takes something like this to send them back to their cars.

 

[Manchester77]

TMS is the entire system though. TMS controls the signals, real time information and points. Trams have a TMS code for a destinations. Because there isn't currently an Eccles - Droylsden service it doesn't have a code so drivers just use the eccles via media code. All controllers need to do is update the timetable for PIDs to display this its not a bug.

 

[Midlandman]

OK, serious question. this was an Etihad-Victoria working that eventually ran empty to the depot at Queen's Road (I know this because when we finally got on a Bury service, we had to wait while it reversed into the depot. Surely there must be a code for Droylsden-Victoria for when the last services are running to the depot at night? So why not use this?

My whole point is, simply, that tram said Victoria, PID said Bury, and the resulting confusion caused at least one user to have second thoughts about using Metrolink on her return journey. (She got off at Bury muttering about calling a cab for her return to Piccadilly,to be more certain of not missing her train). I'm not specifically getting at Metrolink, because this sort of thing happens elsewhere as well. It seems as if we CAN design and build systems that will work, it's just that, now and again, nobody seems especially bothered to make sure they ARE working. As I said before, this, as much as anything, lets down public transport, and it has to be avoidable. .

 

[12CSVT]

Having been to East Didsbury yesterday, I'm surprised how far it is from East Didsbury national rail station (and having to cross several busy main roads to get from one to the other). I reckon you would need to allow for about 10 mins to walk between the two stations (including time allowance for having to wait for the pedesterian lights at the various road crossings), making it virtually useless as an interchange.

 

[Starmill]

Having been to East Didsbury yesterday, I'm surprised how far it is from East Didsbury national rail station (and having to cross several busy main roads to get from one to the other). I reckon you would need to allow for about 10 mins to walk between the two stations (including time allowance for having to wait for the pedestrian lights at the various road crossings), making it virtually useless as an interchange.

It's not useless - it could be worse. A lot of effort has been made to ensure that access is as easy as possible to the Metrolink stop. The same cannot be said for the NR station, but there isn't much that could be done about it.

I agree that the largest barrier is the need to cross the road: 4 at least and one of those across the TESCO car park entrance is unsignalled. Also, as you come down the hill from the Southbound NR platform there is something a bit odd about the path layout...

This however, is not the biggest barrier to using this interchange. There are no through tickets priced as if you can change there, which makes them all a rip-off, unless you know how to manipulate the system.