Due to a cracked rail at Victoria, a Metrolink service change will be in place from this morning
Altrincham to Bury and Manchester Airport to Victoria services will run via Exchange Square. Passengers wanting to use Shudehill or Market Street stops are advised to change at Victoria and use Piccadilly-bound services.
The changes will be in place until the end of service on Friday, 19 January, to allow some temporary repairs and further investigation of the rails to take place.
It comes ahead of a delayed start to services on Sunday, which will also see service changes on several lines.
No trams will operate before 9am on Sunday 21st January while essential works are carried out. During this time there will be no dedicated bus replacement service in place.
While trams will begin to leave the depot at around 9am, it will not be until 10.30am before a normal service is expected to resume on most lines.
On the same day work will also take place on the track between Piccadilly and Ashton-under-Lyne, which will see trams on the Altrincham, Bury and Eccles lines operate to Piccadilly Gardens only. A bus replacement service will be in operation. On-stop display screens and public announcement systems at stops across the network may also take a little time to return to normal.
Danny Vaughan, TfGM’s Head of Metrolink, said: “Metrolink is the largest tram network in the country, and we’re now running more services and carrying more passengers than ever before.
“That’s why it’s important for us to maintain and improve the Metrolink network, to ensure that it continues to provide a safe and reliable service for all of our customers.
“While the weekend works are planned, the nature of a large network like ours also means that unfortunately there are unplanned works that we need to manage – and over the next couple of days a team of engineers will be making some temporary repairs and undertaking a full inspection of a cracked rail at Victoria.
“We’ll have plenty of staff across the network to help customers, but I’d encourage anyone planning to travel with us to plan ahead and check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”
