SJ8498 : Metrolink Tram Leaving Exchange Square
taken 8 years ago, near to Manchester, England
The Exchange Square stop is the 93rd and newest stop on the Metrolink network. The first passenger services pulled into the on Sunday, 6 December 2015. The new stop is on Corporation Street between Exchange Square and the Manchester Arndale. It in the heart of the busy shopping and leisure district, providing easy access to shops, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, including Manchester Arndale, the Corn Exchange and The Printworks, the Medieval Quarter and the National Football Museum and (during December) the Christmas Markets.. This area is now pedestrianised with no access to traffic between Withy Grove and Market Street/St Mary’s Gate.
The new stop has a modern design making the most of limited space in Exchange Square while keeping plenty of room for pedestrians. The striking pavilion style stop has an ‘island’ platform, brightly coloured steel and glass shelter and unique ‘floating’ overlapping glazed roof panels. On-stop ‘furniture’ such as passenger information displays and seating, has been integrated into polished concrete columns to give the stop a clean, uncluttered design. The step-free ramped access to Exchange Square is located at the southern end of the stop near to the bottom of the Manchester Arndale steps.
The Exchange Square stop marks the first stage of the Metrolink Second City Crossing through the heart of the city. Construction work started on the 0.6km stretch of line between Victoria Station and Exchange Square in summer 2014 following utility diversions. The initial services will operate during peak operational hours only, with trams running to Shaw and Crompton on weekdays and Rochdale Town Centre on Sundays (Link
(Archive Link ) Metrolink Transformation Information). It is anticipated that it will change to a full service in spring 2016.See other images of Exchange Square Metrolink Stop
The rapid expansion of the Metrolink network since 2009 placed significant extra demand on the existing line through the centre of Manchester due to the additional number of tram movements as all the routes run through a single line in the city centre.
In January 2014, work began on a second Metrolink line (The Second City Crossing, 2CC) through the city centre as part of the Transport Strategy for Manchester City Centre. As well as giving extra capacity, it will also provide more flexibility to serve special events and reduce disruption caused by future maintenance and renewals in the city centre.
The route runs from the existing line at Victoria Station, through Exchange Square, Corporation Street, Cross Street and Princess Street to the existing Deansgate-Castlefield stop via an extended and enlarged stop at St Peter’s Square. A new stop was created at Exchange Square and the Victoria Station stop was improved as part of the overall refurbishment of the station. Link
The first stage of the route, between Victoria and Exchange Square, was opened in December 2015 whilst the final section, from Exchange Square to St Peter’s Square, was opened to passengers on 26 February 2017.
Link
Exchange Square is a public space which was created after the IRA’s 1996 Manchester bombing. Today the square is a major shopping area including a branch of Selfridges, New Cathedral Street, The Triangle shopping Centre and an entrance to the Manchester Arndale, the most-visited shopping centre in the United Kingdom.
The square is served by Exchange Square Metrolink station on the Manchester Metrolink network. Construction on the new extension started in 2014 and the entire Second City Crossing scheme Link became operational in 2017.
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- Grid Square
- SJ8498, 3877 images (more nearby 🔍)
- Photographer
- David Dixon (more nearby)
- Date Taken
- Sunday, 6 December, 2015 (more nearby)
- Submitted
- Friday, 11 December, 2015
- Subject Location
-
OSGB36:
SJ 840 986 [100m precision]
WGS84: 53:29.0754N 2:14.5550W - Camera Location
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OSGB36: SJ 840 987
- View Direction
- Southwest (about 225 degrees)
