Altrincham Line

Altrincham Line
A M5000 approaching Trafford Bar.
Overview
Type	Tram/Light rail
System	Manchester Metrolink
Locale	Manchester Altrincham
Termini	Deansgate-Castlefield Altrincham Interchange
Stations	11
Operation
Opened	15 June 1992
Character	Converted railway line
Rolling stock	M5000
Technical
Line length	6.4 miles (10.4 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	750 volts DC overhead
Operating speed	50 mph (80km/h)
Route map to Bury and Etihad Campus Deansgate-Castlefield Deansgate Bridgewater Canal Cornbrook to Eccles and MediaCityUK Manchester-Liverpool Line Trafford Bar to East Didsbury and Manchester Airport Old Trafford Stretford River Mersey Dane Road Sale Brooklands Timperley Navigation Road Altrincham

The Altrincham Line is a tram line of the Manchester Metrolink running from Manchester to Altrincham in Greater Manchester. Originally a railway line, it was, along with the Bury Line, converted into a tram line during 1991–92, as part of the first phase of the Metrolink system.

The line runs south-west from Manchester city-centre, rising from a ramp which takes the tracks onto the streets of central Manchester, just east of Deansgate-Castlefield stop, and then runs along a former railway viaduct, parallel to the heavy rail Manchester to Warrington and Liverpool line as far as Cornbrook; just west of which the Eccles Line diverges to the north-west, and the Altrincham line runs south-west under the railway through an underpass. Cornbook stop was opened in 1999 as an interchange stop between the Altrincham and Eccles lines. The line then runs south-west along the former MSJ&AR line, and connects the towns of Stretford and Sale before running to Altrincham. The line uses old railway lines converted to light-rail operation, and has no street-running sections.

The South Manchester and Airport Lines both share tracks with the Altrincham line as far as just south of Trafford Bar where they diverge at a junction.

On the stretch between Timperley, and the terminus at Altrincham, the alignment is shared with the Network Rail Mid-Cheshire Line: There are two tracks; the tram line uses one track, and the railway uses the other, both operating as bi-directional single track lines. Both Navigation Road station, and Altrincham Interchange and shared tram/train interchange stations.