Manchester Metrolink

Advantages: quick, fairly reliable, fairly reasonable
Disadvantages: avoid durirng rush hours

...reliable system. Luckily living in Manchester we have the Metrolink alongside the trains and buses. What is the Metrolink? It is Manchester's tram system. Manchester is almost unique in Britain for having such a system. The only other place I know of is Sheffield. (I know Blackpool has them but they are not really working public transport. They are just for the tourists). However it does not look like a tram you would see at Blackpool or Critch ...
...the former Altrincham and South Manchester Junction line). There were plans to extend the service south to Wythenshawe and Manchester airport, east to Sports City and Ashton on Lyne and north to Rochdale and Oldham. However these were put on hold as it was claimed there was not enough money, as finance is needed to extend the underground for London's Olympic bid. Hopefully the Metrolink will be extended, as it is a brilliant method of public transport. ... Read review

Advantages: regular services, fairly cheap
Disadvantages: occasional delays, peak times

...to the bright lights of Manchester city centre, my chosen method of transportation the metrolink from Radcliffe. OK the metrolink for the uninitiated is the tram system that runs through Manchester city centre connecting Bury, Altrincham and Eccles with the city. The trams run on the Bury line roughly every 6minutes during the day and every 12 minutes at off peak times, from 6am until 11pm. The trams are in the companies green and grey livery with ...
...home from evenings out in Manchester and I have always felt reasonably safe on the trams, on occasion I have seen police travelling on them whether this is for the safety of passengers or just the police moving around during their shifts I couldnt say but I do find it reassuring. They seem as clean as you would expect from public transport and seem to suffer remarkably little vandalism. Of course during rush hour I would imagine that they are packed ... Read review

Advantages: Frequent, Accessible
Disadvantages: Unreliable, Overpriced, Overcrowded

The current network in Manchester runs to Altrincham, Bury and Eccles. In the city there is a spur to Piccadilly Station. The platforms are reasonably spacious, all have disabled access, and a ticket machine. There are random spot checks on the trams, and a £20 fine if you are caught without a ticket, so buying a ticket prior to boarding is essential. In theory the trams run every six minutes to Altrincham and Bury, and every twelve minutes to Eccles. ...
...the bus from Eccles to Manchester will do the journey ten minutes quicker. A second tram depot is under construction for lines to Manchester Airport and Rochdale via Oldham, the former being new construction, the latter being a conversion of a 'First North Western' route which admittedly doesnt run more frequently than half-hourly, and more worryingly suffers overcrowding at peak times! Apparently the construction of these lines is in doubt at present ... Read review

Advantages: Relatively clean
Disadvantages: Unreliable, Expensive, Poorly Maintained, Dangerous

Thanks to the poor management of Serco and a lack of funding, the ailing Eccles line only gets poorer every year. 3 days out of 5 there's at least a 24 minute delay due to broken down trams (of which they have no extras.) Announcements at various points on the line run in 'night mode' which apparently means not at all. Often times you must ring the heavily burdened customer service line to get someone to tell you what is going on. Thankfully they ...
...you want. I've been told by their public relations department that often times the choice to remove trams and place them on the Altrincham line is owed to more passengers. Even though the Altrincham line is more frequent and even when late, trams spacious in comparison to the Eccles jumble. If you have alternative means of transport, such as the bus system or even a car, I would use those options. Until Serco either loses their contract or the government ... Read review

Advantages: Lots of options, and the services are all pretty good.
Disadvantages: Some prices are a little high.

...So the guide rolls on, and this time round we are on the topic of transport. I covered this briefly in my general op but here I intend to bore you with far more detail (cue half the readers to leave.) I don’t drive etc. so for me public transport (and my bike) is a must. I regularly use all forms of public transport to get from A to B, on to C and so on. Although I am not a season ticket holder on any of them, I use them enough to have a pretty decent knowledge of the services offered. Metrolink Manchester’s tram network, known as Metrolink was only opened in the last 10 years, but has already become as popular a way to traverse the city as there is. The original line ran from Bury to Altrincham stopping in Manchester on the way, with a little side route to Piccadilly Rail Station. The recent extension and proposed additions... Read review

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Advantages: T1 has fantastic shopping
Disadvantages: V. Busy in the summer

...of the concourse to make it look and feel like a shopping boulevard. MA Plc have now installed information machines all around the airport. They act like an information desk and even have a virtual MA Plc employee who will guide you through the process. From the machines you can get info on shops, flights and local information. You can plan a route through Manchester and print out the details. You can also print out vouchers for offers in various shops, which can save you £££'s. Ther's also an option to receive flight info by SMS Text Message. Ground Transport Interchange Manchester Airport's new GTI intergrates Rail, Bus, Taxi and Metrolink (in 2005) services in one building. From the GTI you can hop on train to Manchester, Sheffield, Barrow-in-Furnace and more within minutes. A single ticket to Manchester... Read review

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Advantages: Not far off being as good as London, and it's cheaper
Disadvantages: Renovations make it a mess at the moment.

...operated and policed, with an easy to use layout. Manchester also has Metrolink, the city’s own tram service. It runs right through the city, and out onto farther places. The lines have recently been extended, and further lines are planned. The service is extremely well run and the trams are clean and frequent. It is a little pricier than the bus or train, but it is more convenient too. What To Do When You Get There? = Where do I start? Manchester has a vast array of superb things to do in a range to suit all (especially a certain Ciao self confessed shopaholic!) Shops. Bloody loads of the things! The city centre has a large shopping centre indoors as well as a range of shops outside on Market Street. There are also the designer stores on King Street (the posh stores.) Outside the city... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful