St Peter Square Metrolink stop set to closed for 14 months from Summer 2015.

[po8crg]

I feel that a matter such as the protection against the elements for their passengers in "temporary" disruptions will be far removed from the minds of those charged with the planning of the TfGM Manchester Metrolink empire expansion...

Agreed. But at least they could sign the bloody route!

 

[edwin_m]

More details of service pattern now on TfGM website:

http://www.tfgm.com/Corporate/media_centre/Pages/News.aspx?articleId=623

The following services will run during the 10 month period of single line running through St Peter’s Square from September 2015 to June 2016:

Altrincham to Piccadilly, 12-minute service with double trams
Altrincham to Cornbrook, 12-minute service with single trams
Bury to Piccadilly, 12-minute service with single trams
Bury to East Didsbury, 12-minute service with double trams
Eccles-MediaCityUK to Deansgate-Castlefield, 12-minute service with double trams
Rochdale to Ashton-Under-Lyne, 12-minute service with single and double trams
Manchester Airport to Cornbrook, 12-minute service with single trams

Plans are also currently being developed for replacement bus services during the stop closure to ensure good access to the city.

Perhaps some interesting hints there on where most demand now is? In particular Bury-Altrincham always used to be the priority, including in the current Victoria shutdown, but the double tram services are now planned to be Bury-Didsbury and Altrincham-Piccadilly.

Unfortunately no reduction in the two 2-month total service suspensions through St Peters Square, or indication of what service will operate in those periods.

 

[Greybeard33]

More details of service pattern now on TfGM website:

http://www.tfgm.com/Corporate/media_centre/Pages/News.aspx?articleId=623

Perhaps some interesting hints there on where most demand now is? In particular Bury-Altrincham always used to be the priority, including in the current Victoria shutdown, but the double tram services are now planned to be Bury-Didsbury and Altrincham-Piccadilly.

Unfortunately no reduction in the two 2-month total service suspensions through St Peters Square, or indication of what service will operate in those periods.

http://www.transportforgreatermanchestercommittee.gov.uk/tfgmc/downloads/file/4965/item_05_st_peters_square_metrolink_single_line_operation gives the other options considered for the service pattern during the single line operation and the rationale for the choice. The Altrincham and E Didsbury lines are preferred to the Eccles/MCUK line for through operation over the single line because of higher demand. Of these two through double services, one needs to go to Piccadilly and the other to Victoria to avoid excessive frequency through either station.

The document also gives some indication of the service pattern during the two blockades:

During the work to bring in the single line operation, no services will be
able to operate through the stop. The service pattern during this time will
be as follows:-
Altrincham to Cornbrook: Singles, 12 Minute
Altrincham to Deansgate-Castlefield: Doubles, 12 Minute
East Didsbury to Deansgate-Castlefield: Doubles, 12 Minute
Eccles to Deansgate-Castlefield via MediaCityUK: Doubles, 12 Minute
Manchester Airport to Cornbrook: Singles, 12 Minute
Bury, Rochdale and Ashton-Under-Lyne service
patterns are to be agreed with the operator: Singles, 12 Minute

 

[edwin_m]

Deleted.

 

[Greybeard33]

Not sure they are fully thought through. For example Altrincham goes to doubles every 6min, 33% more service than today or in the single line service, and it seems to be saying Bury is getting single trams every 12min which is only a third of today.

Actually it says that Altrincham will get 10tph alternating doubles and singles during the blockade, which is the same capacity as the current weekday service.

The east side service is not spelled out in detail. I imagine it will be similar to that during the recent Saturday blockades of Deansgate-Castlefield, but with equivalent capacity to the current weekday service on each line. E.g. Bury to Ashton, 5tph, singles; Bury to Piccadilly, 5tph, doubles; Rochdale to Etihad Campus, 5tph, mix of singles and doubles.

The new Exchange Square stop on the 2CC line is expected to open sometime next winter, with an additional 5tph service to Shaw & Crompton. This will give 10tph between Shaw/Oldham and Victoria.

Trams could be running to Exchange Square as early as next winter 2015/16, thanks to £10.8 million of ERDF funding. This is in advance of the rest of the Second City Crossing (2CC) line opening in 2017. The spur between Manchester Victoria and Exchange Square will give Metrolink the ability to run more trams between Shaw & Crompton and the city from winter 2015/16.

http://www.transformationinformation.co.uk/faqs

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Was the planning of Metrolink services commencing from Shaw and Crompton the reason why the Metrolink stop there was designed in the way it was?

 

[snowball]

Was the planning of Metrolink services commencing from Shaw and Crompton the reason why the Metrolink stop there was designed in the way it was?

Yes, it was always intended that once usage has built up, the number of services south of Shaw would be doubled, with alternate ones turning round there. With the siding being on the east side, city-bound trams will depart from alternate sides of a two-sided platform.

 

[edwin_m]

Actually it says that Altrincham will get 10tph alternating doubles and singles during the blockade, which is the same capacity as the current weekday service.

Oops, how did I manage to miss that one?

 

[pemma]

Ignore.

 

[Altfish]

Why can't they quickly set up single line running on the existing track nearest the Library (there's already a trailing crossover on the ramp next to Central) while they build the new track furthest from the Library, then switch over to using that one while they build the rest?

I was thinking that they should be able to build the two new tracks first + platform(s) and then switch over and refurbish / re-lay the old lines/platforms.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

GMPTE probably do inflate the timescales, but again, what's wrong with this? I'd rather GMPTE said I might be inconvenienced for eight weeks, and it only take six, than them give unrealistic timescales and miss them.

After the flack they got for the late delivery of Oldham/Rochdale you can't really blame them. Airport was about 15-months early.

The only thing that makes me hesitate with this conspiracy theory is that the total closures are both in the Summer Holidays which coincides with lowest use. If it is brought forward the second closure will be at a busier time.

 

[edwin_m]

The only thing that makes me hesitate with this conspiracy theory is that the total closures are both in the Summer Holidays which coincides with lowest use. If it is brought forward the second closure will be at a busier time.

Isn't that more to do with the length of the single line running period than the length of the blockades at each end of it? 8 weeks is longer than the school summer holidays so is likely to include some busy periods.

Apparently some colleagues of mine are doing some work on temporary arrangements. I'll go and nag them instead of whingeing on here...

 

[familyguy99]

I don't think this been mention yet but new track have started popping up at St Peter Square which believe to be for new single line that going to be running at St Peter Square stop come September 2015.

 

[familyguy99]

This Sunday will see St Peter Square stop closed for 14 months while work for new 2CC line and new Metrolink platform at St Peter Square start getting build, from Monday (29th June) to late August Metrolink service will run as follow.

Metrolink services from Monday 29 June:

The following Metrolink services will run from Monday 29 June until the end of August:
•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-Fri, 9am – 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. Some double trams will run during weekday peaks.

Metrolink will be running shuttle bus between Piccadilly and Trafford Bar while line is shut for eight weeks.

Additional bus services

To offer good access to the city a Metrolink X1 shuttle bus will run a circular service between Piccadilly station, Trafford Bar and Cornbrook stops. Frequencies and times may change in line with customer demand.

Customers should have a valid ticket before boarding the buses. Tickets are available from machines at all Metrolink tram stops.

X1 shuttle service: Piccadilly Station (Fairfield Street) – Trafford Bar – Cornbrook – Piccadilly Station (Fairfield Street).

From Monday 29 June until the end of August, the X1 shuttle service will run as follows:

Monday to Friday
•X1 services will run from 6am to 8pm. Services will operate an approximate 10 minute frequency. The frequency will be increased during peak times.

Weekends
•X1 services will run approximately every ten minutes 7am - 7pm on weekends.

Metrolink passengers can also use free Metroshuttle buses while work is taking place and here link showing where Metroshuttle bus will run and what time they start and finishes.

http://www.metrolink.co.uk/ServiceDisruptionsDocuments/St Peter's Metroshuttle seperate.pdf

http://www.metrolink.co.uk/Pages/Service-Updates-News.aspx?articleID=186

 

[Altfish]

Let the chaos begin:roll:

 

[pemma]

Let the chaos begin:roll:

At the moment Altrincham-Cornbrook/Deansgate is the only revised Metrolink service operating at it's correct frequency.

Ashton service is suspended, other lines are all experiencing severe delays due to multiple overhead wire problems.

I notice a last minute decision has been made to extend the operating hours of Metroshuttle 3 during the closure of St Peter's Square.

 

[neilmc]

Combining the Media City/Eccles during the daytime means that the frequency to Salford Quays has been halved to 12 minutes. Poor.

My wife who works there has rung me to say she is late and there is a 15-minute gap before the first inbound Deansgate but that the second tram is for Piccadilly. Surely that can't be right?

There's always bus 50 as an alternative but that's extremely circuitous.

 

[nidave]

Combining the Media City/Eccles during the daytime means that the frequency to Salford Quays has been halved to 12 minutes. Poor.

My wife who works there has rung me to say she is late and there is a 15-minute gap before the first inbound Deansgate but that the second tram is for Piccadilly. Surely that can't be right?

There's always bus 50 as an alternative but that's extremely circuitous.

Someone cut a cable in St Peters Square this morning

This is only a suspicion but I think that there are fail safe 'isolation' controls for sections of the network. There certainly used to be such controls for the City centre and Eccles Line before the Phase 3 expansions. It is a requirement that there are fail safe controls for street running areas so that in the event of an emergency they can be made safe quickly and without the use of the normal remote control system. They operate in very large blocks so that it is not necessary to have an accurate location. I wonder whether the fault affected this control and resulted in an isolation of a vast area in one action. It would make some sense as the Bury, Altrincham and East Didsbury Lines were less affected and wouldn't have such controls as the have no street sections. ORL would have been affected by the street sections in Oldham and Rochdale.

 

[bussnapperwm]

Noticed today that the X1 Metrolink shuttle bus was being operated by Stagecoach Tridents of a 2002/2003 vintage in a magic state

 

[Altfish]

Combining the Media City/Eccles during the daytime means that the frequency to Salford Quays has been halved to 12 minutes. Poor.

My wife who works there has rung me to say she is late and there is a 15-minute gap before the first inbound Deansgate but that the second tram is for Piccadilly. Surely that can't be right?

There's always bus 50 as an alternative but that's extremely circuitous.

Today most Eccles trams seemed to be doubles.
Not possible to get beyond Deansgate, some of the track is already dug up and O/H equipment has gone

 

[pemma]

Yesterday afternoon I observed the following:

• A lot of people travelling on Metroshuttle 3 between Piccadilly and Deansgate, many of them had no idea when it would be their stop. Also both Metroshuttle buses and X50 buses seem busier than usual. So it looks like passengers who usually use Metrolink are using the X50 and Metroshuttle buses instead of the X1 replacement bus service.
  
• For some reason the destinations of trams from Altrincham were alternating between Deansgate-Castlefield and Old Trafford (instead of Cornbrook as advertised.)
  
• The loadings on Altrincham trams were much lower than usual, while the number of passengers travelling between Altrincham/Navigation Rd and central Manchester was higher than usual.
  
• The road closures around St Peter's Square are causing traffic jams in the city centre to be worse than usual and pedestrians to be confused - it isn't even possible to walk up Moseley Street between the Central library and the art gallery - you have to divert off on to side roads.

 

[Altfish]

Yesterday afternoon I observed the following:

• A lot of people travelling on Metroshuttle 3 between Piccadilly and Deansgate, many of them had no idea when it would be their stop. Also both Metroshuttle buses and X50 buses seem busier than usual. So it looks like passengers who usually use Metrolink are using the X50 and Metroshuttle buses instead of the X1 replacement bus service.
  
• For some reason the destinations of trams from Altrincham were alternating between Deansgate-Castlefield and Old Trafford (instead of Cornbrook as advertised.)
  
• The loadings on Altrincham trams were much lower than usual, while the number of passengers travelling between Altrincham/Navigation Rd and central Manchester was higher than usual.
  
• The road closures around St Peter's Square are causing traffic jams in the city centre to be worse than usual and pedestrians to be confused - it isn't even possible to walk up Moseley Street between the Central library and the art gallery - you have to divert off on to side roads.

[*] Not sure what the bus numbers are but south Manchester passengers wanting Piccadilly are being encouraged to alight at Trafford Bar.

[*] Very strange...they weren't running trams back into the depot whilst you were there were they?

[*] Higher numbers are being reported on the mid Cheshire diesels, so you would have thought that Navi Rd and Altrincham would have had less people??

[*] The road closures have been well advertised and it's good to be shut of the cars, no longer will St Peter's Square have cars or buses!
Don't know what's happened to the pedestrian route from Library to Mossley Street, it was ok on Wednesday when I walked down.

 

[po8crg]

[*] Higher numbers are being reported on the mid Cheshire diesels, so you would have thought that Navi Rd and Altrincham would have had less people?

Wonder if people are getting trams from Sale area to Navi Road and changing onto mid Cheshire trains for Manchester rather than going straight up the tram line.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Wonder if people are getting trams from Sale area to Navi Road and changing onto mid Cheshire trains for Manchester rather than going straight up the tram line.

Surely for a more direct journey from Alti to town it would be easier (and quicker possibly?) to get the X41 or 263 bus?

 

[pemma]

[*] Very strange...they weren't running trams back into the depot whilst you were there were they?

I didn't use the tram so didn't see what happened between Navigation Rd and Deansgate-Castlefield.

It would have been a strange time to be sending trams back to the depot, as it was pre-evening peak rather than post-evening peak and I thought the test match at Old Trafford was finished by Thursday, so the Old Trafford trams wouldn't relate to the cricket, unless for some bizarre reason Metrolink amended the timetable due to the cricket and didn't change it back.

Higher numbers are being reported on the mid Cheshire diesels, so you would have thought that Navi Rd and Altrincham would have had less people??

I realised on re-reading there was a mistake in my sentence it should have said

The loadings on Altrincham trams were much lower than usual, while the number of passengers travelling between Altrincham/Navigation Rd and central Manchester on Northern Rail services were higher than usual.

 

[Greybeard33]

I didn't use the tram so didn't see what happened between Navigation Rd and Deansgate-Castlefield.

It would have been a strange time to be sending trams back to the depot, as it was pre-evening peak rather than post-evening peak and I thought the test match at Old Trafford was finished by Thursday, so the Old Trafford trams wouldn't relate to the cricket, unless for some bizarre reason Metrolink amended the timetable due to the cricket and didn't change it back.

The Test Match was in Cardiff! There was a County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford Mon-Thurs, but attendance was a few hundred at most.

Only a guess, but maybe some of the Altrincham to Cornbrook trams were being turned short at Old Trafford when you saw them on Friday, in order to re-form the service intervals after delays at Cornbrook. The timetable requires two services to be turned at Cornbrook every 12 minutes, one from Altrincham and one from the Airport. If the turnback siding is already occupied, the next tram has to wait in the inbound platform. As there are also three through services to Deansgate-Castlefield every 12 minutes (one from Altrincham, one from E Didsbury and one from Eccles) that have to use the same Cornbrook platform, a tram-jam can rapidly develop if there are any delays. When I was at Cornbrook mid-morning today, there was a tram in the siding, waiting to depart for Altrincham, another in the inbound platform waiting to enter the siding, then five more tram units (two through doubles to D-C and a third terminating single) queuing nose to tail to enter the inbound platform!

I saw only a trickle of passengers using the X1 bus from Cornbrook to Piccadilly. Depending on whereabouts in the city centre you are heading, the free Metroshuttles from Deansgate-Castlefield can be a quicker option for those unable/unwilling to walk.

 

[familyguy99]

Metrolink have confirm today that single line will start operation on Friday 28th August.

slight change to Metrolink service as Altrincham to Piccadilly will now become Altrincham to Etihad and Eccles via MediaCity to Deansgate will become Eccles via MediaCity to Piccadilly.

Friday 28 August: Metrolink services resume through St. Peter’s Square

Metrolink services will resume through St Peter’s Square from Friday 28 August, in time for the bank holiday weekend and Manchester Pride celebrations.

​Tram services will run through the square in both directions on a new single line of track as work to build a brand new stop takes place nearby.

Trams will stop at St Peter’s Square when a much bigger, better stop opens close to the Cenotaph in autumn 2016.

There will be changes to services from Friday 28 August with trams running on the following routes:

•Altrincham to Etihad Campus
•Altrincham to Deansgate-Castlefield
•Bury to Piccadilly
•Bury to East Didsbury
•Eccles-MediaCityUK to Piccadilly
•Manchester Airport to Cornbrook
•Rochdale to Ashton-under-Lyne

For more detailed information on service frequencies and hours of operation from 28 August, can be found on this link.

http://www.metrolink.co.uk/ServiceDisruptionsDocuments/SPS_Phase_2_service_info.pdf

Peter Cushing, Metrolink Director at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “I’d like to thank our customers for their patience over the summer while we’ve worked to build this single line of track through the square.

“It means we can keep trams running through the city – getting people to work, shopping and events over the coming year – while we build a brand new tram stop right alongside the new line.

“We’re pleased to be on track to get the work finished in time for the bank holiday and Manchester Pride celebrations, of which we’re a proud supporter.”

The demolition of the old St Peter’s Square tram stop will make way for more public space for everyone to enjoy as part of the council’s exciting flagship redevelopment of the square.

http://www.metrolink.co.uk/pages/news.aspx?newsID=203

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Is this matter still on target to be met? I am quite intrigued about the new service routes.

 

[Bungle965]

I suspect that there will be not many though passengers on the Rochdale -Ashton-under-Lyne line.
Sam

 

[gnolife]

I suspect that there will be not many though passengers on the Rochdale -Ashton-under-Lyne line.
Sam

Would that be anything to do with the bus route 409, which connects the two better than every ten minutes, taking about half the time that the Metrolink does?

 

[Bungle965]

Would that be anything to do with the bus route 409, which connects the two better than every ten minutes, taking about half the time that the Metrolink does?

Yep.
That is correct.
Sam