MANCHESTER METROLINK

Any award for ‘best new UK tram system’ would be hotly contested.

For example, there have been plenty of plaudits for the Nottingham Express Transit system since it opened in 2004, reflecting its expansion and the city’s vision for its trams (RAIL734).

But the template remains Manchester, owned by Transport for Greater Manchester, and operated and maintained by French-owned RATP Group. Its routes now cover almost 50 miles across the conurbation, and there are plans for further expansion.

Manchester Metrolink began blazing a trail in April 1992, and in its first year it carried some 8.1 million passengers. As the network steadily expanded into new areas, so passenger numbers increased - it now carries triple that number of passengers, according to latest figures.

Estimated patronage (based on ticket machine sales) dipped once, from 13.8 million in 1997/1998 to 13.2 million in 1998/1999, before increasing rapidly to 14.2 million in 1999/2000.

The figure dropped again in around 2009, when parts of the system were closed for upgrades. But the 20 million mark was passed in 2011, and following Metrolink’s recent expansion the current figure now stands at 25 million.

And work to expand the system’s infrastructure is ongoing. Driver training over the line to Rochdale Town Centre line began in December, ahead of Rochdale services beginning to use the new route on January 27, ten days after the closure of the old railway alignment between Werneth and Oldham Mumps.

As with tram networks in other parts of the country, Metrolink faces its own unique challenges.