Tram users in the centre of Manchester face disruption over the summer as major transformation work is set to start at the St Peter’s Square stop next month.

The first phase of work will see the stop close from Sunday 28 June, with no tram services running through it until the end of August. 

The summer closure is the start of a 14-month construction programme that will see a new, expanded stop built closer to the new Cenotaph. The stop will have two new island style platforms and two sets of track in each direction, allowing more services to run through it on the existing lines and the new Second City Crossing.

The work programme has been tailored to lessen the impact on passengers as far as possible. The first phase of works through to the end of August 2015 will see changes to track and infrastructure so that trams can continue to run through St Peter’s Square.

Services will run in both directions on a single line through the square for the ten-month construction period even as works for the new stop take place nearby.

A final eight-week closure will follow in summer 2016 before St Peter’s Square services reopen in the autumn. The Second City Crossing route is expected to open in 2017.

The following services will run during the eight-week stop closure starting on Sunday 28 June:

·         Altrincham to Deansgate-Castlefield: 12 minute service with double trams.

·         Altrincham to Cornbrook: Peak only 12 minute service with single trams.

·         Bury to Piccadilly: 6 minute service (7am to 8pm Mon-Fri9am – 8pm Sat) and 12 minutes at all other times. Some double trams will run during weekday peak. 

·         East Didsbury to Deansgate-Castlefield: 12 minute service with double trams in the peak.

·         Eccles to Deansgate-Castlefield via MediaCityUK: 12 minute service with double trams.

·         Manchester Airport to Cornbrook: 12 minute service with single trams.

·         Rochdale town centre to Ashton-under-Lyne: 12 minute service with single trams.

  

To offer good access to the city a Metrolink shuttle bus will run from the Cornbrook stop direct to Piccadilly, while passengers will also be able to catch free Metroshuttle bus services at Deansgate-Castlefield. Walking routes will also be signposted.

Peter Cushing, Metrolink Director at Transport for Greater Manchester said: “We’re completely rebuilding the St Peter’s Square stop and all our planning has been geared towards limiting the impact, as far as possible, on our customers and the services we offer.

“We need to stop running trams run through St Peter’s Square at the start and end of the construction work – so we’ve planned this during the quieter summer months. 

The work at St Peter’s Square will follow the major redevelopment of the Deansgate-Castlefield stop currently under way, which will provide a turning point for trams south of the city centre.

The stop redevelopments and new Second City Crossing are part of a co-ordinated three-year programme of works, known collectively as Grow, which will enable Manchester city centre to flourish for years to come.


1 COMMENT

  1. People walking through St Peter’s Sq need to be warned about the dirty water flying around from the building demolition. I’ve just walked through and my clothes, coat and bag are absolutely filthy. I thought it was rain. Obviously not!

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