UK: Transport for Greater Manchester has announced that £21·4m from the government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement will be spent on the Metrolink light rail network over the next 12 months.
The spending approved on February 22 is part of a planned £147m package to maintain, upgrade and improve the network which runs until 2027.
Immediate priorities include track replacement in the city centre and on parts of the Altrincham and Bury lines. New substations are being added along the Bury line to facilitate the operation of more paired trams. Metrolink is also replacing much of its communications network.
There will be a programme of modifications to the trams, including the installation of speed warning devices and sensors in the middle of double trams to detect and deter ‘tram surfers’ riding on the auto-couplers.
TfGM is looking into the replacement of the 750 V DC overhead line equipment on some of the older parts of the network such as the Bury line, which caused several prolonged disruptions in 2023.
