Tram Terminus

Following on from last week's photo of the new tram lines running across Oldham Road, today's photo shows the new tram terminus in Ashton.

In the centre of the picture is the ramp leading up to the platform, with tram tracks on either side. Everything is in place and ready to roll - even the electronic matrix signs that will give the time of the next tram are switched on. A small amount of paving and landscaping work is being finished off.

Trams have been here during the night testing the track but services won't be starting just yet as they are waiting for more trams to be delivered. The next phase of the Metrolink tram system will open on Thursday, with an extension of the St Werbergs Road line to East Didsbury. The extension from Droylsden to Ashton will be next.

Immediately behind the camera is Ashton Bus Station, making interchange easy. The entrance to the Arcades shopping mall is 150 metres to the left. The photo is flanked by Ashton's two bluest buildings - Assheton House and IKEA!

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Tram Terminus" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

ABC Wednesday: On the Rails

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is R for "On the Rails" and the photo shows the rails of the almost-completed tramway7 from Manchester to Ashton.

The picture is looking westwards across Oldham Road. One set of rails is coming straight towards the camera while the other set can be seen a little to the left. The Ashton tram terminus is behind me. The trams already run as far as Droylsden and the rest of the line to Ashton will open later in the year.

The track is complete and workmen are finishing off paving and landscaping. Trams have already been to this location on test in the small hours of the night. Metrolink are being a little vague about when the line will be open for service and I suspect that they will need to wait until enough new trams have been delivered.

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"On the Rails" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "R" posts from around the world please follow this link.

The trams are coming!

The trams are coming back towards Ashton! It was in 1938 that the traditional trams stopped running in Ashton. Now, 75 years later, the new second-generation trams are heading back to the town.

Today saw the newest tram line of Manchester's Metrolink system opening as far as Droylsden. The rest of the line from Droylsden to Ashton is expected to be open some time within the next year.

The photo shows one of the new trams leaving Droylsden and heading towards Manchester and then on to Bury.

A Metrolink leaflet giving information about the new line can be found here. (.pdf) A map of the route under construction between Droylsden and Ashton can be found here. (.pdf)

When the line is complete, the trams will run every 6 minutes between Ashton and Manchester, transforming public transport in the world of Ashton under Lyne!

See Google Street View of this location.

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"The trams are coming!" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Tramway

Today's view of the world of Ashton under Lyne shows the new Metrolink tramway being constructed on the approach into the town.

Last week's photo showed the construction of the tram terminus in Ashton. Here we see the lines being laid alongside Lord Sheldon Way as it passes Sainsburys. The roadway here was deliberately built with a wide central reservation to accommodate the tram lines.

The site currently looks a mess but when the work is finished a strip of grass will be reinstated alongside.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Tram Terminus" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Tram Terminus

Today's view of the ever-changing world of Ashton under Lyne shows the construction of the new Metrolink tram terminus in the town.

Later this year Manchester's modern tramway network will be extended as far as Droylsden. The remaining section from Droylsden to Ashton is expected to open about a year later. However work on the line into Ashton is already fairly well advanced and, as you can see, the platforms for the terminus is Ashton are already taking shape. There are even sections of tram rail in place on each side of the central platform. The bus station is immediately behind the tram terminus.

Unlike most tramway systems in Europe, Manchester's trams require high platforms, taking up a lot more space than those of other systems such as those in Sheffield, Nottingham and the new trams in Blackpool. This was because the original Metrolink line used former railway lines between Manchester and Bury and Altrincham. In view of the size the network will be by 2015, it would probably have worked out much cheaper in the long term if they had re-built all the former railway platforms as low platforms!

A plan showing the layout of the new tram terminus can be seen here. A map of the tram route from Droylsden to Ashton can be seen here. Links to maps of other parts of the route and to the other new tram routes can be found on this page.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Tram Terminus" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.