Manchester tram extension progressing well

[northwichcat]

But not the one you were expecting:
http://www.heatonparktramway.org.uk/

Extra trams are also on the way, subject to funding:
http://www.heatonparktramway.btck.co.uk/depotappeal

 

[WatcherZero]

Yep in coming on a year of solid work theyve racked up the incredible progress of crossing a footpath!

/joke

 

[northernrail]

aaahhh good to see me and my mates work getting noticed somewhere
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Weve completed the extension yesterday, just tidying before the opening day.

 

[strange6]

I went on my first Metrolink tram yesterday! I was very impressed. I went to Weaste (nr Eccles) from Picaddilly and the scenery was superb. Good value for money as well in my opinion at 3.20 return for a peak ticket. I was actually quite surprised about the lack of ticket checking though - well open to abuse in my opinion.

 

[WestCoast]

I was actually quite surprised about the lack of ticket checking though - well open to abuse in my opinion.

The honour system of random checks is good, very popular in mainland Europe, the ticket doesn't have to leave your wallet! The "Standard Fare" (Penalty Fare in mainline speak) is £100, so most aren't tempted to dodge and the groups of inspectors have a much greater presence than they used to (quite clever in their blocking tactics too!). It's more effect than, say, the Tyne & Wear Metro, which just has a £20 penalty and less regular inspections.

 

[strange6]

The honour system of random checks is good, very popular in mainland Europe, the ticket doesn't have to leave your wallet! The "Standard Fare" (Penalty Fare in mainline speak) is £100, so most aren't tempted to dodge and the groups of inspectors have a much greater presence than they used to (quite clever in their blocking tactics too!). It's more effect than, say, the Tyne & Wear Metro, which just has a £20 penalty and less regular inspections.

Whoa! 100 quid is very high. It's just not worth taking the risk when fares are so reasonable in the first place. I love sitting at the back and looking through the rear cab window. Great view.

 

[dggar]

I went on my first Metrolink tram yesterday! I was very impressed. I went to Weaste (nr Eccles) from Picaddilly and the scenery was superb. Good value for money as well in my opinion at 3.20 return for a peak ticket. I was actually quite surprised about the lack of ticket checking though - well open to abuse in my opinion.

My experience is the checking is quite rigorous, especially in school holidays.
At Cornbrook they will often hold a tram while 4 or 5 checkers go through it and then alight.

 

[WestCoast]

I've also see them block exits when the tram stops, so anyone who panics and tries to leave is caught. They seem quite good at it.
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Whoa! 100 quid is very high. It's just not worth taking the risk when fares are so reasonable in the first place. I love sitting at the back and looking through the rear cab window. Great view.

That's the idea. Mainline train penalty fares (Northern don't have them but Merseyrail do) are supposedly not for fare dodgers. But, make no mistake, the Standard Fare on the Metrolink is aimed right at dodgers.

 

[Nym]

I went on my first Metrolink tram yesterday! I was very impressed. I went to Weaste (nr Eccles) from Picaddilly and the scenery was superb. Good value for money as well in my opinion at 3.20 return for a peak ticket. I was actually quite surprised about the lack of ticket checking though - well open to abuse in my opinion.

You mean like on the evenings when there no ticket checkers and if you're walking from Parkway Circle, Trafford Park to Weaste and you just can't be bothered walking the last bit?

And if they block the doors for 5 mins, pretty soon they'll have a que of 5 trams behind it...

 

[185]

Things are changing soon with regards to the evenings, I hear.

 

[Nym]

Good thing I don't walk to Weaste from work any more then... (Oooops, I don't faredodge on the metrolink, honest)

 

[WestCoast]

And if they block the doors for 5 mins, pretty soon they'll have a que of 5 trams behind it...

Not on the Eccles Line they wouldn't (well, the section of the line past MediaCity). They don't do that much in the peaks, but I've seen them doing it at Whitefield and Timperley. Obviously, they do other things as well, but they are far better than they used to be.

It's much better than what they do on other networks, a couple of inspectors literally wave to the driver and then board, at one end and then everyone scuttles off at the back...(*cough* Dublin *cough*)

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

But not the one you were expecting:
http://www.heatonparktramway.org.uk/

Extra trams are also on the way, subject to funding:
http://www.heatonparktramway.btck.co.uk/depotappeal

Thank you for posting this.....I must have missed seeing it before. Our family used the single-deck tram in the 1980's when it ran from the main gates on Middleton Road along the wide straight road from that gateway into the park, but it was only a short section then. One of my sons still has the tickets!!

I was not aware that they had Blackpool trams in store. They have a good catchment area for members on the north side of Manchester (and Salford and Bury).

 

[northernrail]

Weve made it!!!!
The furthest a tram has reached in the park

If anyones interested July 11 is set as opening date