Metrolink M5000 Fleet Status

[Jamesrob637]

Might be quieter on a normal year but school holidays are definitely busier this year as there is still a distinct lack of commuter traffic.

 

[507 001]

Really? We're in the middle of the school holiday!

Yes? School holidays are always quieter.

 

[py_megapixel]

Yes? School holidays are always quieter.

Surely one would expect more tourists, more locals doing things such as shopping trips and so on - especially considering commuter traffic is still fairly low.

Given you actually work on the system you have a much better idea of the busier and less busy times than I do - I was just surprised.

 

[507 001]

Surely one would expect more tourists, more locals doing things such as shopping trips and so on - especially considering commuter traffic is still fairly low.

Given you actually work on the system you have a much better idea of the busier and less busy times than I do - I was just surprised.

No School traffic, fewer people going to work etc. This year might be slightly different as fewer will be going abroad, but that remains to be seen.

 

[rebmcr]

I suspect inspections have already taken place, and the problem will probably be found this evening.

Did you ever find out about this?

 

[Mothball]

Really? We're in the middle of the school holiday!

While still busy its much quieter than outside the school holidays, on public transport and on the roads giving the replacement buses half a chance at keeping journey times low. My commute from Central Manchester to just past Rochdale has gone from an hour to less than half an hour since the schools have finished. Thats why many major engineering blockades take place during this time....

 

[Robertj21a]

Really? We're in the middle of the school holiday!

Which will be the best time to carry out the work.

 

[py_megapixel]

Which will be the best time to carry out the work.

Yes, I know that now. There was a short discussion about this in the posts above.

 

[507 001]

Did you ever find out about this?

The incident is still under investigation.

 

[J-2739]

Hi. Bit off topic I guess, but when is the Media City UK to Ashton-under-Lyne peak service returning? Any more services to return?

 

[sjm77]

Hi. Bit off topic I guess, but when is the Media City UK to Ashton-under-Lyne peak service returning? Any more services to return?

The latest is Media City - Etihad would return later in September when staff availability allows. A little bit too vague for my liking! Also the majority of Eccles - Ashton trams are singles which I don't understand because the trams SHOULD be available to make them doubles (or at least the majority).

 

[J-2739]

The latest is Media City - Etihad would return later in September when staff availability allows. A little bit too vague for my liking! Also the majority of Eccles - Ashton trams are singles which I don't understand because the trams SHOULD be available to make them doubles (or at least the majority).

Oh thanks. Hopefully soon enough, I miss the full service the Metrolink had.

 

[507 001]

3130 was delivered on Saturday. It was sat on 4 road at Queens Road earlier, quite visible from the Bury Line.

 

[507020]

3130 was delivered on Saturday. It was sat on 4 road at Queens Road earlier, quite visible from the Bury Line.

How many depots are there on the Metrolink? I’ve never been on the Bury, Rochdale or Airport lines, but I’ve been on the full length of all the others and only recall seeing the one at Trafford.

 

[507 001]

How many depots are there on the Metrolink? I’ve never been on the Bury, Rochdale or Airport lines, but I’ve been on the full length of all the others and only recall seeing the one at Trafford.

There’s two. Trafford and Queens Road. Queens Road being the original depot, it can actually perform heavier maintenance and repairs than Trafford.

 

[507020]

There’s two. Trafford and Queens Road. Queens Road being the original depot, it can actually perform heavier maintenance and repairs than Trafford.

So does Trafford exist primarily for its larger stabling capacity then?

 

[507 001]

So does Trafford exist primarily for its larger stabling capacity then?

Yes. It can do exams and light maintenance too. It also has one of our two wheel lathes, but anything that has its tyres turned at Trafford has to go to Queens to have its ride height adjusted anyway…

 

[507020]

Yes. It can do exams and light maintenance too. It also has one of our two wheel lathes, but anything that has its tyres turned at Trafford has to go to Queens to have its ride height adjusted anyway…

What I find entertaining on Google Maps is how sharp the curves are at either end of the Trafford depot that link the mass of sidings to the shed.

 

[507 001]

What I find entertaining on Google Maps is how sharp the curves are at either end of the Trafford depot that link the mass of sidings to the shed.

Yes they’re pretty tight. They’re not actually the tightest curves on the system though. They’ve been a little problematic over the years though, we’ve had a few derailments on them.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Speaking of that, it's about time that the older trams start getting an external refresh. The yellow is faded, some of the vinyls have come off on most trams (the Media City trams are the worst offenders on this front) and they're just showing that they're 11 years old by this point. Maybe a good excuse to refresh the livery slightly as well.

Going back to this, I saw 3001 the other week and all of the dots have come off on the right hand side of one of the cabs. The older trams are really starting to look shabby.

 

[py_megapixel]

Going back to this, I saw 3001 the other week and all of the dots have come off on the right hand side of one of the cabs. The older trams are really starting to look shabby.

Yes, it's a shame. All they need to do is clean them thoroughly! (and possibly apply some fresh vinyl, though that's not essential)

 

[Gostav]

Going back to this, I saw 3001 the other week and all of the dots have come off on the right hand side of one of the cabs. The older trams are really starting to look shabby.

When the tram at refurbishement would be a good opportunity to make some modifications to increase capacity such as remove one side cabs each units and permanent coupling them to build 4-cars trams.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Yes, it's a shame. All they need to do is clean them thoroughly! (and possibly apply some fresh vinyl, though that's not essential)

Yeah but it's not a good look, especially if you park one next to a new tram. Bare in mind that most trains would usually start receiving a repaint about now in their lives.

When the tram at refurbishement would be a good opportunity to make some modifications to increase capacity such as remove one side cabs each units and permanent coupling them to build 4-cars trams.

That's a rebuild, not a refurbishment. It would probably wind up being easier to buy 4 car trams. And such an arrangement would reduce the flexibility of the fleet. Then there's the issue of what happens when a tram fails in service, you can't just easily uncouple it and quickly dump it somewhere. Then you have the problem of what happens when the good tram makes it to the other end or worse still, trapped by the bad tram.

 

[507 001]

Going back to this, I saw 3001 the other week and all of the dots have come off on the right hand side of one of the cabs. The older trams are really starting to look shabby.

3001 suffered a graffiti attack a few months ago. The stuff they use to clean the graffiti off severely damages the vinyl spots too.
It’ll probably get new spots at some point, but at the time of the attack we were still in lockdown which made it difficult to get a vinyl company in to do it.

The spots have been such a poorly thought out feature of the livery, they would have been much better as a single sheet of vinyl rather than individual spots. This would have at least meant that each spot didn’t collect filth to the same extent that they do now.

We’ve also had some issues with the wash plant at Trafford which has meant a sizeable portion of the fleet hasn’t been getting washed properly. This has now been rectified

Yeah but it's not a good look, especially if you park one next to a new tram. Bare in mind that most trains would usually start receiving a repaint about now in their lives.

That's a rebuild, not a refurbishment. It would probably wind up being easier to buy 4 car trams. And such an arrangement would reduce the flexibility of the fleet. Then there's the issue of what happens when a tram fails in service, you can't just easily uncouple it and quickly dump it somewhere. Then you have the problem of what happens when the good tram makes it to the other end or worse still, trapped by the bad tram.

They manage well enough in Frankfurt. Have a look at the U5-50 vehicles that they have over there. They’re Bombardier Flexity swifts too..

To be honest, uncoupling a unit with a fault is extremely unusual anyway. We tend not to couple/uncouple anywhere other than a depot these days as M5000 couplers aren’t exactly reliable.

As such, M5000s tend to stay coupled for long periods of time these days. If a serious fault develops that requires the set to be taken out of service it would be taken to the nearest depot anyway, still with its double unit attached if it has one.

Having a number of sets semi permanently coupled wouldn’t be a bad idea.

 

[LOL The Irony]

3001 suffered a graffiti attack a few months ago. The stuff they use to clean the graffiti off severely damages the vinyl spots too.
It’ll probably get new spots at some point, but at the time of the attack we were still in lockdown which made it difficult to get a vinyl company in to do it.

Lockdown still shouldn't be affecting this, should it?

The spots have been such a poorly thought out feature of the livery, they would have been much better as a single sheet of vinyl rather than individual spots. This would have at least meant that each spot didn’t collect filth to the same extent that they do now.

But then you'll wind up with the issue of when water gets behind the clear vinyl. Not an easy problem to fix.

 

[MattRat]

But then you'll wind up with the issue of when water gets behind the clear vinyl. Not an easy problem to fix.

Why do we need the vinyl in the first place? Does the paint job really look that bad without the spots? And if it does, update the paint job, passengers love a good refresh to trains.

 

[py_megapixel]

Why do we need the vinyl in the first place? Does the paint job really look that bad without the spots? And if it does, update the paint job, passengers love a good refresh to trains.

Updating the entire livery is going to cost more than some vinyl dots...

 

[MattRat]

Updating the entire livery is going to cost more than some vinyl dots...

That's only if the current livery looks bad without the spots.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Lockdown still shouldn't be affecting this, should it?

I've just found the answer to my own question, it isn't.

It’s Here: The Progress Tram | The Progress Train

theprogresstrain.co.uk

You wanted it, we wanted it: and now it’s here! Yes, for their fifth year – and fourth design – Manchester Metrolink have come through and unveiled a Progress-liveried M5000 tram ahead of this year’s Manchester Pride celebrations. Metrolink are, of course, no strangers to the Trambow concept: their designs have evolved each year to keep the concept fresh whilst also responding to changing dialogues within the LGBTQ+ community.

Following an understandable hiatus in 2020, the brand new design for 2021 still draws its inspiration from Metrolink’s standard spotty livery, and is currently applied solely to tram 3095. In previous years, two units have been wrapped for Pride, so our eyes are eagerly peeled to see if a second one appears.

They have the ability to slap a pride livery on but not the ability to look after the standard livery. Frankly, they should be focusing on the shabbiness of their older trams before adorning newer ones with special liveries. But that's just my opinion.

 

[507 001]

Lockdown still shouldn't be affecting this, should it?

But then you'll wind up with the issue of when water gets behind the clear vinyl. Not an easy problem to fix.

It isn’t, but it was at the time that the graffiti attack happened. It’s just in a queue of vehicles waiting for attention.

ne piece of clear vinyl with a bit of water behind it is easier to sort than all of those spots needing to be replaced individually surely?

That's only if the current livery looks bad without the spots.

It doesn’t