The first Metrolink tram will leave Rochdale station next week – marking a significant moment in the network’s expansion.
On February 28, the first in-service tram will set off from Rochdale Railway Station at 5.59am.
The 7.4 km extension of the Oldham line from Shaw & Crompton will connect Rochdale Railway Station via existing stations at Newhey and Milnrow and two new tram stops at Kingsway and Newbold.
The project will bring the total size of the Metrolink network to 69 km (43 miles) and signals the midway point of a massive expansion of the network.
Councillor Andrew Fender, chairman of the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) Committee, said: “The Metrolink expansion continues apace and I am delighted that we are now only days away from services running to Rochdale for the first time.
“These new services will open up several new opportunities for communities along the line: for the very first time, people will be able to travel to and from the brand new stops at Kingsway and Newbold, and all on new trams and tracks.
“They will also be able to travel to and from the new stops at Monsall, Central Park, South Chadderton and Freehold that opened last year, and services will run through to Manchester city centre and on to Chorlton, calling at all stops in between.”
By the time all planned works are completed in 2016, the network will be more than three times the size of the original system that opened in 1992.
