Manchester Metrolink (T68,T68a and M5000) from Monday 6th April 1992 to current day.

A spokesman for Transport for Greater Manchester said: “The number of vehicle faults affecting services has dropped directly in line with the phased retirement of the T68s, which is now complete.”The last T68s,T68Ms,T68As (1007 & 1016) went on the original routes from Piccadilly to Eccles via MediaCityUK/Cornbrook,Bury via Market Street & Altrincham via Market Street/Cornbrook.

22 years of progress (MCRMetrolink)

1992-2014 Transformation IS Coming,We’re here with Information to keep YOU on track

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End Of The Line For Manchester’s First Tram Fleet(Part 1)!!!!!

It has been a loyal if occasionally unreliable workhorse for Greater Manchester’s commuters... and the bane of some people’s lives.But now the last of Metrolink’s original blue-and-grey trams has finally hit the sidings - and after 22 years service will be seen on the region’s rails no more.Transport chiefs have been gradually withdrawing the aging trams - known as T68s - and replacing them with the new yellow versions as part of a £200m investment in the fleet.The final tram was due to leave Bury Metrolink station at 8.03pm tonight (Thursday 1st May 2014).“That means Metrolink’s entire operational fleet is now made up of efficient, modern trams, befitting the largest light rail network in the country.”

Did you know????That the very last T68s (1007 & 1016) left Piccadilly Metrolink station with 180 tram enthuisiasts.

It marks the end of an era since Metrolink began operations in April, 1992.The Queen was among the first to ride on one of the 26 original trams after officially opening the network.In 2009, the first yellow tram hit the rails - the first of 94 new trams ordered to serve the expanding Metrolink network.Transport chiefs decided in the summer of 2012 to replace all 32 T68s with the new model.The decision followed a series of breakdowns - including four in just one fortnight during January 2012.A report said the average distance between breakdowns was 5,000 miles, while the newer trams average 20,000 miles, making them four times more reliable.Transport enthusiasts were expected to flock to Bury station to board the last tram(single tram).One passenger posted a ‘selfie’ on Twitter after boarding the tram after Metrolink asked passengers to send in their pictures.Metrolink will formally be marking the trams’ retirement in the near future.

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Manchester Metrolink Wiki Page

Metrolink (also referred to as Manchester Metrolink) is an English light rail system in Greater Manchester,Lancashire.The network consists of six lines radiating from Manchester city centre to Altrincham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bury, Didsbury, Eccles, and Rochdale. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and operated and maintained under contract by the RATP Group. In 2012/13, 25 million passenger journeys were made.The implementation of a light rail network was conceived as a way to extend existing railway lines into the city centre. Government approval to built the first phase was granted in 1988 with the first line opened between Bury and Manchester Victoria station in April 1992. It was the United Kingdom's first modern light rail system. Since then a further five lines have opened, and today it is the largest light rail system in the United Kingdom with a network of 48 miles (77 km) and 77 stops. Further extensions scheduled to open in 2016/17, will increase this to 60 miles (97 km) with 93 stops.

The initial phase involved converting two existing heavy railway lines and linking them via a new tram line through the city centre. Later extensions have been a combination of railway line conversions and purpose-built tramway paths. The system has a mix of designated light railway (segregated from other traffic) and on-street tramway (shared with pedestrians and motor vehicles) and serves seven of the ten Greater Manchester Metropolitan boroughs. It is operated by a fleet of Bombardier Flexity Swift M5000 trams.

Origins/History

A light rail system for Greater Manchester was born of a desire by the Greater Manchester County Council to fulfil its obligations to provide "an integrated and efficient system of public transport" under its structure plan and the Transport Act 1968.Greater Manchester's public transport network suffered from poor north – south connections, exacerbated by the location of Manchester's main railway stations, Piccadilly and Victoria,which were unconnected and located at opposite ends of the city centre.Piccadilly and Victoria were built in the 1840s by rival companies on cheaper land on the fringes of the city centre, resulting in poor integration and access to the central business zone.As early as 1839, in anticipation of the stations being built, a connecting underground railway tunnel was proposed but abandoned on economic grounds,as was an overground monorail in 1966.^[11] SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive, the body tasked with improving public transport for Manchester and its surrounding municipalities in the 1960s, made draft proposals for a Picc-Vic tunnel,"a proposed rail route beneath the city centre" forming "the centrepiece of a new electrified railway network for the region".Despite investigatory tunnelling under the Manchester Arndale shopping centre,when the Greater Manchester County Council presented the project to the United Kingdom Government in 1974,it was unable to secure the necessary funding,and was abandoned on economic grounds when the County Council dropped the plans in 1977.In 1982, the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE; the successor to SELNEC PTE) concluded that an overground metropolitan light rail system to replace or complement the region's under-used heavy railways was the most economical solution to improving Greater Manchester's public transport network, which suffered from poor integration and outdated infrastructure,a Rail Study Group, composed of officials from British Rail, Greater Manchester County Council and GMPTE formally endorsed the scheme in 1984.Abstract proposals based on light rail systems in North America and continental Europe,and a draft 62-mile (100 km) network consisting of three lines were presented by the Rail Study Group to the UK Government for funding.Following route revisions in 1984 and 1987,and a trial on 9 February 1987 using Docklands Light Railway rolling stock on a freight-only line adjacent to Debdale Park,funding was granted by HM Treasury with the strict condition that the system be constructed in phases.Additional funding came from the European Regional Development Fund and bank lending.

Phase 1 of Metrolink

Conversion of the East Lancashire Railway (Bury-to-Victoria) and Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway (Altrincham-to-Piccadilly) heavy rail lines, and creation of a street-level tramway^[20] through Manchester city centre to unite the lines as a single 19-miles (31 km) network,was chosen for Phase 1 because the two heavy rail lines were primarily used for commuting to central Manchester, and would improve north – south links and access to the city centre.The required parliamentary authority to proceed with Phase 1 was obtained with two Acts of Parliament – the Greater Manchester (Light Rapid Transit System) Act 1988 and Greater Manchester (Light Rapid Transit System) (No. 2) Act 1988.On 27 September 1989, following a two-stage tender exercise, the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority awarded a contract to the GMA Group (a consortium composed of AMEC, GM Buses, John Mowlem & Company, and a General Electric Company subsidiary)who formed Greater Manchester Metrolink Limited to design, build, operate and maintain Phase 1 of Metrolink.^[27] The contract was approved by Minister for Transport Michael Portillo on behalf of the Department for Transport on 24 October 1989, and formally signed on 6 June 1990.The Bury line closed in stages between 13 July 1991 and 17 August 1991, after which the 1200V DC third rail electrified line was adapted for a 750V DC overhead line operation.^[28] In Manchester city centre, a tramway – built with network expansion in mind – from Victoria to Piccadilly via Market Street and Piccadilly Gardens connected Bury to Altrincham via the city centre.The overhead structures (cantenary) and wiring of the Altrincham line were adapted for light rail.As well as upgrades to signalling and stations on the network, a combined headquarters, depot and control centre was built at Cheetham Hill on Queens Road, north of Victoria station,at a cost of £8 million (£14,500,000 as of 2014).Initially projected to open in September 1991,Metrolink began operation on 6 April 1992 with a service between Victoria and Bury.Along with the Tyne and Wear Metro and Docklands Light Railway, it helped to reintroduce light rail to the United Kingdom.The network was expanded beyond Victoria to G-Mex Metrolink station on 27 April 1992; with the line opened through to Altrincham on 15 June 1992,completing Phase 1 and enabling use of all 26 T-68 trams acquired for the operation.On 17 July 1992,Queen Elizabeth II officially opened Metrolink at a ceremony.After the ceremony the Queen visited Manchester Town Hall and rode from St Peter's Square to Bury to visit Bury Town Hall.

Phase 1a of Metrolink

Then costing £145 million (£254,100,000 as of 2014) Phase 1 was expected to carry 10 million passengers per year,but surpassed this figure by the 1993/94 fiscal year, and every year thereafter.In recognition of passenger demands and the decommissioning of the Arndale bus station after the 1996 Manchester bombing, adjustments were made to Phase 1 to the design of Manchester City Council's city centre masterplan, by modifying Market Street Metrolink station to handle two-way traffic, demolishing High Street Metrolink station in 1998 and creating a new stop for Shudehill Interchange in 2002.Sections of track in the city centre were relaid following damage to the road surface adjacent to the line.By 2003, Phase 1 was deemed a "long-term success" by GMPTE, and, with overcrowding at peak times, carried more than 15 million passengers per year

Phase 2 of Metrolink

Extension of the Metrolink network was intended to be continuous with successive expansion phases delivered in strict order of priority.GMPTE wanted to repeat its success with Phase 1 by converting other parts of Greater Manchester's under-utilised suburban rail network.However, changes in circumstances and new opportunities, combined with a shift in government policy following the early 1990s recession stalled the immediate expansion of Metrolink after Phase 1.Phase 1a, a proposed east – west route from Eastlands to Dumplington via Salford Quays was muted by uncertainty surrounding the Manchester bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics, the (unbuilt) Trafford Centre, and regeneration of Manchester Docks respectively.Nevertheless, throughout the 1990s, the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority continued to acquire rights to construct Metrolink lines under the Transport and Works Act 1992.During the 1990s, Salford Quays became a business district specifically redeveloped for commerce, leisure, culture and tourism with a high density of business units and modern housing, complemented by a cinema complex, office blocks, and waterfront promenade.As it had poor public transport integration and no rail provision, it was earmarked for a potential Metrolink line as early as 1986 and legal authority to construct the line through the Quays was acquired in 1990.The Quays received millions of pounds of investment and a public consultation and public inquiry resulted in government endorsement in 1994. In autumn 1995 a 4-mile (6.4 km) Metrolink line branching from Cornbrook Metrolink station to Eccles via Salford Quays capitalising on the regenerated Quayside was confirmed as Phase 2 of Metrolink.No funding came from central government and money was raised from the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA), the European Regional Development Fund and private developers.In April 1997 Altram, a consortium of Serco Group, Gio Ansaldo & C and John Laing was appointed to construct the Eccles Line; Serco, responsible for the Sheffield Supertram would operate the whole network under contract; Ansaldo provided six additional T-68A trams and signalling equipment. Construction work began on 17 July 1997.