Manchester Metrolink (Non speculative discussion)

[Bantamzen]

I'm not sure this question is on the right thread. I was recently in Manchester and when passing through Old Trafford Metrolink station towards Trafford bar there seemed to be a lot of work happening to remove vegetation on what used to be a 4 track section.
I haven't been able to find anything describing what is planned there. Are they planning to expand old Trafford station? Does anybody on here know?

Weirdly I've wondering about this for a few weeks!

 

[507 001]

Is there a date set when all the graffiti in the Old Trafford Metrolink approaches that I see when coming in from the Firswood direction will be covered over?

Well, considering it’s like painting the forth bridge…

 

[Class 466]

Bury line suspended this evening due to antisocial behaviour, my tram had a window put through unfortunately injuring an elderly gentleman, another had a window smashed about 25 minutes earlier too. Shame that the culprits probably won’t ever get found as mine (at least) was in motion at the time.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Bury line suspended this evening due to antisocial behaviour, my tram had a window put through unfortunately injuring an elderly gentleman, another had a window smashed about 25 minutes earlier too. Shame that the culprits probably won’t ever get found as mine (at least) was in motion at the time.

What locations were involved?

 

[Class 466]

What locations were involved?

My tram was terminated at Prestwich heading to Bury, the other terminated at Bowker Vale heading the other way.

 

[MetrolinkInsYT]

Why do peak tram services (e.g. East Didsbury - Shaw and Crompton) always cease operations during service disruption?

For example, right now there are no trams Newbold - Rochdale which doesnt affect the East Didsbury Shaw route, but they have been taken out of service and returning to QRD?

 

[507 001]

Why do peak tram services (e.g. East Didsbury - Shaw and Crompton) always cease operations during service disruption?

For example, right now there are no trams Newbold - Rochdale which doesnt affect the East Didsbury Shaw route, but they have been taken out of service and returning to QRD?

They haven’t been? I’ll be driving one in 10 minutes or so.

They interwork with the Rochdale sets anyway, so you can’t realistically just pull those sets without affecting the Rochdales too.

It’s possible that some sets have been pulled due to the Drivers for them being stuck up at Rochdale, but again that’ll also disrupt the Rochdale service, not just the Shaws.

If there’s very severe disruption then sometimes peaks on the other lines get pulled purely in the interests of avoiding clogging up important areas of the system. The idea being that a reduced but free flowing service is better than a full service that can’t really move.

 

[Straus]

What’s going to annoy me is “The Trafford Centre” and “Trafford Palazzo.”

Why not “The Trafford Centre” and “The Trafford Palazzo,”

or “Trafford Centre” and “Trafford Palazzo,” why the inconsistency?

If there's scope for name changes, could Withington become Hough End?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Where are there currently "temporary" speed restrictions across the entirety of the Manchester Metrolink network, and just how long do they typically remain in place? A recent outbound journey on the Altrincham line seemed to be very much a matter of "Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow"! There'll no doubt be various reasons!

 

[507 001]

Where are there currently "temporary" speed restrictions across the entirety of the Manchester Metrolink network, and just how long do they typically remain in place? A recent outbound journey on the Altrincham line seemed to be very much a matter of "Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow"! There'll no doubt be various reasons!

There’s a variety of reasons, mostly infrastructure related.

As for how long they remain in place, well that is a good question.

Repair work falls into two categories. Maintenance and renewal. Maintenance is the responsibility of the operator, and is generally sorted quite quickly.

Renewals are the responsibility of TfGM, and can be in place over a much longer period of time due to their renewals process being fairly slow due to budgets etc.

 

[Paul AC]

There’s a variety of reasons, mostly infrastructure related.

As for how long they remain in place, well that is a good question.

Repair work falls into two categories. Maintenance and renewal. Maintenance is the responsibility of the operator, and is generally sorted quite quickly.

Renewals are the responsibility of TfGM, and can be in place over a much longer period of time due to their renewals process being fairly slow due to budgets etc.

The present speed restriction for almost the whole distance from Brooklands to Timperley - around 1 km - appears to be nothing to do with the track itself. My recollection is that it started soon after the new signalling was installed at Timperley. My cynical mind thinks the two might be related somehow. Is a move out of Timperley siding onto the outbound platform line still available, as it was with the old signalling? Has a risk assessment shown that this has unacceptably increased the risk of a head-on collision?

 

[507 001]

The present speed restriction for almost the whole distance from Brooklands to Timperley - around 1 km - appears to be nothing to do with the track itself. My recollection is that it started soon after the new signalling was installed at Timperley. My cynical mind thinks the two might be related somehow. Is a move out of Timperley siding onto the outbound platform line still available, as it was with the old signalling? Has a risk assessment shown that this has unacceptably increased the risk of a head-on collision?

It absolutely is to do with the condition of the track.

There is no longer a move available from the siding to the outbound, and even if there was it wouldn’t be any worse than the potential for a head on at Whitefield, so wouldn’t justify such a long TSR.

 

[Straus]

There’s a variety of reasons, mostly infrastructure related.

As for how long they remain in place, well that is a good question.

Repair work falls into two categories. Maintenance and renewal. Maintenance is the responsibility of the operator, and is generally sorted quite quickly.

Renewals are the responsibility of TfGM, and can be in place over a much longer period of time due to their renewals process being fairly slow due to budgets etc.

Have the rails or trackbed deteriorated at a faster rate than anticipated? Seems odd to allow a TSR to persist for a predictable issue if not.

 

[507 001]

Have the rails or trackbed deteriorated at a faster rate than anticipated? Seems odd to allow a TSR to persist for a predictable issue if not.

Most of the affected areas were last renewed in around 2007/2008 so approaching a 20 year life. Not bad considering how much traffic we put over it.

 

[ThirteenArches]

BBC News:

'I was stranded at tram stop due to broken lifts'​

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7vmqvr1zz9o

Gary Dawson, 42, from Oldham, was stuck at the Failsworth platform after getting off to find both lifts were out of service and there were no staff to help him...
Despite pressing the emergency contact buttons and calling the helpline, he said he received no response.

The BBC seems more interested in the lifts being out of order than the lack of response to emergency buttons. What if there had been a real emergency, like a disabled person being unable to leave the station?

He ended up getting the next tram to the next stop a mile away, and coming back self- powered along a main road.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The BBC seems more interested in the lifts being out of order than the lack of response to emergency buttons.

The matter of lifts being out of order on the stops of the Metrolink system was most probably is seen by the BBC to be a valid matter on which to report, considering how that particular type of tram stop problem seems to be an never-ending story. Was the matter of lifts maintenance in the lifts contract when awarded not worded more strongly in relation to time periods when lifts are out of commission?

The BBC are not to blame for the lack of a reporting response to tram stop emergency buttons, but the posting above seems not to want to attach any blame to the real offender which is the organisation charged with ensuring that responses to emergency buttons are acted upon. I wonder why?

Perhaps a new film titled "The Good, The Bad and the Bee Network" should be made.

 

[Straus]

The lifts are frequently not in operation - there are currently 4 listed on the bee network website as out of service, with no rectification dates.

They seem to update the start date of the fault so it looks like it's been a shorter issue than reality - possibly to avoid scrutiny as it is a potential breach of the 2010 Equality act.

Incredibly frustrating for those who rely on step free access.

 

[ThirteenArches]

I can't see how you construed that, Xenophon. Both lifts not working, that's a serious problem. The lack of response to an emergency call, that's a potential disaster. and I was astonished that TfGM didn't make a statement on that, and that the BBC journalist didn't ask them to. Two wrong- side failures in one article.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I can't see how you construed that, Xenophon. Both lifts not working, that's a serious problem

Any lift not working is a serious problem at tram stops and over the last few months, is one that has been a problem that needed addressing far more urgently.

 

[Straus]

Any lift not working is a serious problem at tram stops and over the last few months, is one that has been a problem that needed addressing far more urgently.

Past few months? This has been an issue for years. Certainly since keolisamey took over the contract.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Past few months? This has been an issue for years. Certainly since keolisamey took over the contract.

Have tram stop lift failure matters changed much with the advent of the Bee Network and have there been any TfGM meetings held with Keolis Amey?

 

[507 001]

Past few months? This has been an issue for years. Certainly since keolisamey took over the contract.

For the record, whilst day to day maintenance of the lifts is the responsibility of KAM, the required renewal work makes it a TfGM job.

Doesn’t excuse the situation, far from it (TfGM’s renewals process is far too slow by their own admission) but I hope it clarifies how things work…

 

[ThirteenArches]

It must be me. Not LIFTS - the real problem is EMERGENCY CALLS.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It must be me. Not LIFTS - the real problem is EMERGENCY CALLS.

For people who find it medically challenging, lifts that are non-operational are a real problem.

 

[507 001]

It must be me. Not LIFTS - the real problem is EMERGENCY CALLS.

Yes, this is the part of the story that I do find very challenging.

The emergency call points are tested regularly (I’ve witnessed the testing on a few occasions) so they should all definitely be working.

Why they weren’t answered I have no idea.

 

[toms]

Has there been a date or time frame finalised for when the new pedestrian bridge, lift, staircase and canopies will be installed at Bury Tram Stop/Interchange? I know works are due to start in 2026 and surveys were happening at Bury a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Ethano92]

Does anyone know what the issue is with the lighting fixtures in the longer platform shelters? They don’t seem to be operational at many stops making the sheltered parts of the platform quite dark. Doesn’t seem to be an issue on the shorter shelters even if they’re on the same platform.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Noting the forecast for the next few days to have night temperatures below freezing point, what is the normal depot procedure for runnng the overhead line ice clearances?

 

[507 001]

Does anyone know what the issue is with the lighting fixtures in the longer platform shelters? They don’t seem to be operational at many stops making the sheltered parts of the platform quite dark. Doesn’t seem to be an issue on the shorter shelters even if they’re on the same platform.

The phase 3 shelters suffer from water ingress which gets into the electrics causing the lighting to fail. This is the reason why Shudehill and the TPL have a different shelter design.

Noting the forecast for the next few days to have night temperatures below freezing point, what is the normal depot procedure for runnng the overhead line ice clearances?

They’re run by night drivers whenever the forecast suggests they will be required.

 

[Tramfan]

They’re run by night drivers whenever the forecast suggests they will be required.

Does Metrolink have night drivers rostered, or are they done as overtime?