The first tram through Oldham town centre?

[185143]

Do you know what time the first tram from Rochdale through Oldham town centre is on Monday?

 

[Manchester77]

Well no new trams are needed for the extension through Oldham therefore the existing timetable will be tightened, I imagine there will be some time shaved off from the Shaw-Rochdale section so it's hard to say but I can't imagine it being too different from 0557: keep checking the attached link, it'll be updated the nearer we get to opening
http://www.metrolink.co.uk/tramtimes/Pages/Rochdale-Railway-Station.aspx

 

[507 001]

Well no new trams are needed for the extension through Oldham therefore the existing timetable will be tightened, I imagine there will be some time shaved off from the Shaw-Rochdale section so it's hard to say but I can't imagine it being too different from 0557: keep checking the attached link, it'll be updated the nearer we get to opening
http://www.metrolink.co.uk/tramtimes/Pages/Rochdale-Railway-Station.aspx

Nope, timetable is staying as it is for at least a few weeks. The theory is that there's enough slack in the existing timetable to cover the Oldham section.

 

[snowball]

In case anyone's interested, the word on SSC is that the first non-public test trams to run over the newly completed curves at Werneth and Mumps, and the first through the town centre since the closure, will be tomorrow (Thursday).

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

As was the case of the past openings on the Manchester Metrolink system to Oldham Mumps, then Shaw, then Rochdale railway station on the Oldham and Rochdale line and at Droylsden and Ashton-under-Lyne on the East Manchester line, there will be those hardy SSC (and RailUK) souls who will be marking the occasion next Monday morning in the darkness of the forecasted cold early morning weather...who can ever forget the biting cold last February at Droylsden when that was opened..

 

[familyguy99]

Do you know what time the first tram from Rochdale through Oldham town centre is on Monday?

You probably wouldn't found out until the weekend, when Metrolink will update the timetable for the four new stops in Oldham Town Centre.

The timetable wouldn't be changing so the first tram will probably still be 05:57am from Rochdale.

 

[507 001]

You probably wouldn't found out until weekend when Metrolink updates time info with four new stops on Oldham Town Centre, as it already confirm the timetable wouldn't be changing so it probably still be 05:57am the first tram to Manchester from Rochdale.

Just look at the time the first tram went through old mumps and you have your answer.

 

[bradders1983]

Question - what will happen to the old track? Will it be lifted (which no doubt will cause yet more carnage at the Mumps crossroads for a few weeks whilst they do it) or does it remain as a diversion route?

 

[snowball]

The track on the old route will be lifted, except where it is embedded in the road at the A62 crossing. It's already impossible to run a rail vehicle onto the bypassed old route as the connections at each end have been removed. At Mumps there are already permanent new railings across the old alignment on the north side of the A62.

 

[Crossover]

The track on the old route will be lifted, except where it is embedded in the road at the A62 crossing. It's already impossible to run a rail vehicle onto the bypassed old route as the connections at each end have been removed. At Mumps there are already permanent new railings across the old alignment on the north side of the A62.

I'm guessing this is why the bridge was removed, since it was only temporary? Will the catenary and associated equipment be removed from the roundabout?

I'm guessing they never put points in to allow testing on the new track, but just had plain track severed for one set of tracks?

 

[snowball]

The overhead wires across the A62 at Mumps, and a few poles, were removed during a closure of the road on Saturday. The remaining wires, poles and tracks will be removed from the rest of the bypassed route over the next few weeks with no further road or tram closures required. The tunnels will be fenced off or walled up. The tracks embedded in the A62 carriageways at the crossing will remain.

At Werneth there have never been any points. Until last weekend the town centre tracks stopped short of meeting the operational tracks.

At Mumps there are no points now, but until Saturday there was a single temporary set of points between the Rochdale-bound town centre line and the Rochdale-bound operational line. This was the only means of getting trams into and out of the town centre line. The Manchester-bound town centre line never quite met the operational line.

Test trams started running back and forth through the town centre several weeks before Christmas and ran on most weekdays without entering the operational line. They switched between the Manchester- and Rochdale-bound tracks by means of two permanent trailing crossovers, one near each end of the town centre line.

The road layout at Mumps is no longer a roundabout, it was converted to a signal-controlled junction in about 2011 as part of the preparation for laying the tracks, after the bridges and embankment had been removed.

Lots of pictures on SSC.

 

[edwin_m]

To be strictly pedantic there were and still are trailing crossovers at either end of the new section near the "junctions" with the former railway route. These were used to allow trams to shuttle back and forth on the correct lines during testing/training, and will now be retained as turnbacks for short workings or line blockages.

 

[snowball]

I did actually mention those permanent crossovers and their usage. When I said no points I meant between the old and new lines. Sorry if that was not clear.

 

[familyguy99]

Metrolink have confirm that first tram from Rochdale to Oldham will be at 6am and first tram to arrival at Westwood stop will be at 05:30am.

Set controls for the heart of Oldham

People will be able to ride trams into the heart of Oldham from Monday, as the Metrolink network’s latest addition officially opens to the public.

Subject to final testing and commissioning over the weekend, the first in-service tram to pass through the new town centre will leave Manchester Victoria at 5.09am, reaching the Westwood stop circa 5.30am.

The first tram from Rochdale will depart at 6am, arriving at the new Oldham Mumps stop circa 6.18am.

The new line has four new stops – Westwood, Oldham King Street, Oldham Central and Oldham Mumps, with the latter integrating tram and bus services and providing a new, free park and ride site for Metrolink passengers.

Once it opens, journeys from Rochdale to Manchester Victoria will take around 45 minutes, while journeys from Oldham Mumps will take around half an hour.

http://www.tfgm.com/Corporate/media_centre/Pages/News.aspx?articleId=382

 

[edwin_m]

I did actually mention those permanent crossovers and their usage. When I said no points I meant between the old and new lines. Sorry if that was not clear.

So you did. Apologies.