Trafford Park Line

The Trafford Park Line is a light rail line on the Manchester Metrolink network in Greater Manchester, England, running from Pomona to The Trafford Centre. Its name derives from Trafford Park, an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, and the first planned industrial estate in the world. The line opened in March 2020.

History
Between July and September 2014, Transport for Greater Manchester conducted a public consultation to build the line. In November 2014, the agency applied for power under the Transport and Works Act 1992 to build and operate the line. In October 2016, power to build the line was granted by the Secretary of State for Transport. Construction commenced in January 2017.

The final stretch of track was laid in November 2019, with the first test trams running soon after. The line opened on 22 March 2020, eight months earlier than originally planned, despite suggestions that it might be delayed as part of a review of all Metrolink services because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Route
The Trafford Park Line begins at a junction with the Eccles Line immediately west of Pomona stop, where concrete blocks were placed when the Eccles Line was constructed as provision for when the Trafford Park Line eventually opened.

After the junction at Pomona, the tram line descends and passes underneath Trafford Road Bridge and reaches Wharfside tram stop. It continues to run alongside the Manchester Ship Canal for about a quarter of a mile before making two sharp turns to get to Imperial War Museum tram stop. After the stop, it merges into the central reservation section of Trafford Wharf Road, and later makes another sharp left turn to run along Warren Bruce Road. There are stabling sidings along this section, but they are not regularly used.

The line turns right again to run along Village Way and reaches Village tram stop. Half of the way to Parkway, the line continues to run adjacent to the road, but later merges into the central reservation again and reaches Parkway tram stop. After traversing through Parkway Circle, the tram line turns to get out of the road and onto a purpose-built tram bridge (the fastest section of the line), then turns right and runs adjacent to Barton Dock Road before reaching its like-named tram stop. The tram line completely crosses Barton Dock Road after the stop and a short stretch brings the line to its terminus at The Trafford Centre.

Future provision has been made to extend the line to Port Salford.

Rolling stock
To provide rolling stock for the line and other service expansions, 27 Bombardier M5000 trams were ordered; these incorporate modifications to the existing fleet including new touch screen Vecom units for drivers.

Services
Services operate between The Trafford Centre and Deansgate-Castlefield at a frequency of every 12 minutes Monday-Saturday, and every 15 minutes on Sundays.