Main construction works on a new Metrolink line through the heart of Manchester city centre are expected to finish before Christmas, with the final rails now laid.
The £165 million Second City Crossing, due to open next year, will allow more frequent, reliable and flexible services to run on the busy tram network, which now hosts more than 35 million journeys a year.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) opened the first phase of the route, from Victoria Station through to a new stop at Exchange Square, in December 2015, fast-tracked thanks to a grant from the European Regional Development Fund.
All major civil engineering works – including installing overhead lines to power the trams along the route – are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
It means the city will be free of Metrolink construction work in time for the busy festive period, when Manchester City Council’s Christmas markets attract millions of visitors to the city.
Despite the city’s Victorian infrastructure throwing up several unforeseen and major construction challenges – including a collapsed Victorian sewer, and double the number of anticipated exhumations following the discovery of a former church graveyard on Cross Street – the Second City Crossing is expected to open in early 2017.
Due to the potential delays, TfGM had been expecting completion in summer 2017. However contractor M-Pact Thales (MPT) worked closely with utility companies and TfGM to ensure the line is on track to be finished earlier in the year, through collaborative management and mitigation of the construction work.
A thorough testing and commissioning programme will resume in early 2017 before the first passenger services can launch.
