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Manchester trip

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ValleyLines142

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So I'm off to Manchester in a few weeks and I have an idea what I'd like to do.

I'm arriving at Piccadilly and plan on going to the waiting rooms on platforms 13/14 for a bit of unit bashing, as I'll see the majority of services arriving into platforms 5-12 as well as 13/14 of course.

After however long there, I'm planning on getting a TPE service to the airport as I like the 185s. From there, I'm going to hop onto the Metrolink to Cornbrook, as I've yet to cover that relatively new stretch of line. Is the transfer from rail to tram quite simple at the airport?

From Cornbrook I'm going to go to Eccles, then back to East Didsbury wheere by then I will have covered the entire network. I'll then go all the way to Bury, have a look around there and then head back to central Manchester.

Does this sound like a good plan? Any ticketing advice?

Thanks!
 
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Bungle965

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Transfer from National Rail services at Manchester Airport is do able with relative ease, however the Metrolink line is quite tedious and you can get quite bored with it although as this is your first time i suspect not. The Bury line has some of the fastest sections of track, so that is worth doing. As for ticketing i can recommend two things from the top of my head.
GM Wayfarer: http://www.tfgm.com/journey_planning/Documents/PDFMaps/Wayfarer-Rail-diagram.pdf this covers you for all train buses and trams (Bar a couple of exceptions) in Greater Manchester
and
Metrolink Travelcard this will cover you for the trams only and can be bought from the ticket machines.
Hope this helps
Sam
 

ValleyLines142

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If you time it right you can get a train to/from Eccles to save you doubling back, tonly an hourly service though.

Thanks. From where, sorry? Eccles to Airport only runs on a Sunday I believe?

Transfer from National Rail services at Manchester Airport is do able with relative ease, however the Metrolink line is quite tedious and you can get quite bored with it although as this is your first time i suspect not. The Bury line has some of the fastest sections of track, so that is worth doing. As for ticketing i can recommend two things from the top of my head.
GM Wayfarer: http://www.tfgm.com/journey_planning/Documents/PDFMaps/Wayfarer-Rail-diagram.pdf this covers you for all train buses and trams (Bar a couple of exceptions) in Greater Manchester
and
Metrolink Travelcard this will cover you for the trams only and can be bought from the ticket machines.
Hope this helps
Sam

Many thanks for this. I'm not worried about the tediousness of the line, especially as it's coverage I need. I've heard the line is quite interesting between Shadowmoss and the Airport, where it goes by the runway and apparently if the timings are right some planes land/take off as trams go past.

The GM Wayfarer looks very good however it is a little pricy. I was hoping to get away with an Off-Peak 16-25 single from Piccadilly to Airport and then just a day ticket on the trams. I will certainly have a think about my options, however.
 

ValleyLines142

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In the end, I stuck to my plan, and caught 185136 to the Airport, then caught 3053 to Cornbrook, 3095 to Eccles, 3069 to MediaCity, 3077 to Cornbrook, 3035 to East Didsbury, 3038 to Bury, 3020 to Victoria and 3087 to Exchange Square. Cleared all of the Metrolink network now so happy days! Will report back later!
 
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