Coordinates: 53°29′04″N 2°14′33″W / 53.4844°N 2.2426°W / 53.4844; -2.2426

Exchange Square tram stop

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Not to be confused with Exchange Quay tram stop.

Exchange Square is a tram stop on the Manchester Metrolink's Second City Crossing line, and opened on 6 December 2015 as part of Phase 2CC of the network's expansion.[1][2] It is located by the main entrance to the Manchester Arndale shopping centre, and is also close to the Printworks.

Exchange Square
Metrolink station
Exchange Square tram stop on the day of opening.
General information
LocationExchange Square, Manchester
England
Coordinates53°29′04″N 2°14′33″W / 53.4844°N 2.2426°W / 53.4844; -2.2426
Grid referenceSJ839986
Line(s)Second City Crossing
Platforms2 (island)
Other information
StatusIn operation
Fare zone1
History
Opened6 December 2015; 8 years ago (2015-12-06)
Location
Map

History

The 2CC (Second City Crossing) route was first proposed in 2011 as a means to improve capacity and relieve congestion as the rest of the system expanded.[3][4][5][6] Funded by the Greater Manchester Transport Fund, its route begins at a rebuilt St Peter's Square tram stop, and runs along Princess Street, Cross Street and Corporation Street to re-join the original Metrolink line at Victoria.[5][7] Exchange Square is the line's only tram stop.

The Second City Crossing was granted approval on 8 October 2013 by the Secretary of State for Transport,[6][8] and signed off on 28 October 2013 by the GMCA.[9]

Construction began in 2014 and the line from Victoria to Exchange Square was tested in November 2015.[10] The stop opened as a north-facing terminus on 6 December 2015 with trams running to Shaw and Crompton at first. The full Second City Crossing was completed in early 2017 from Exchange Square to St Peter's Square.[11][12][13] Services to East Didsbury and Rochdale then joined the 2CC.[14]

Layout

Exchange Square tram stop consists of two platforms (island platform). There are four large canopies over the stop which covers most of the platforms. At the stop, there are eight seats and four perch seats on each platform. There are two ticket machines back-to-back near the centre of the stop. One passenger help point is also located near the ticket machines.

Two dot matrix passenger information displays hang from the canopies serving one platform each, and show estimated arrival times for trams in minutes up to 30 minutes prior (up to three at a time) and number of carriages.

There are two ramps at each end of the platforms, providing step-free access for passengers, and several signs on the platforms indicating the name of the stop, its fare zone, tram destinations, and some indicate any closure notices or announcements for passengers.

Services

Services run every 12 minutes on all routes. Some routes (not shown here) only run during peak times.

From this stop, services run to East Didsbury in one direction and to Victoria, Oldham and Rochdale in the other. Tram stops at Shudehill and Market Street are both a 3-5 minute walk away from here, forming out-of-station interchanges.

Preceding station Manchester Metrolink Following station
St Peter's Square
towards East Didsbury
 East Didsbury–Shaw (peak only) Victoria
towards Shaw and Crompton
East Didsbury–Rochdale Victoria
towards Rochdale Town Centre

Transport connections

Other trams

Exchange Square tram stop is a three minute walk away from Shudehill Interchange: a tram stop and bus station. Tram services operate from Shudehill to Manchester Airport and Bury, and Altrincham during peak times.

The same services operate through Market Street, a five minute walk away.

Manchester Victoria rail station is around the same distance away, and also has a tram stop.

Buses

Bus services operate close by near the National Football Museum, on routes 41, 59, 113, and 135. To the south, also nearby, is the 2 Free Bus route, and 8, X41, and X43.

Trains

This tram stop is not connected to any railway stations, but the nearest one is Manchester Victoria, a 3-5 minute walk away. Manchester Victoria can also be reached directly via tram.

Gallery

  • A view of Exchange Square tram stop.
    A view of Exchange Square tram stop.

References

  1. ^ Second city crossing route
  2. ^ Second city crossing Archived 16 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Greater Manchester Transport – 2011
  3. ^ "Metrolink second city crossing 'vital' for Manchester". BBC News. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Salford Infrastructure Delivery Plan" (PDF). Salford City Council. February 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  5. ^ a b TfGM; GMCA (2011). Greater Manchester's third Local Transport Plan 2011/12 – 2015/16 (PDF). Transport for Greater Manchester. p. 84. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Ministers clear way for second city centre Metrolink line". Place North West. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  7. ^ Qureshi, Yakub (23 January 2013). "New city line is 'vital for future of Metrolink'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  8. ^ "Manchester city centre tram route's green light by Government". BBC News. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  9. ^ Williams, Jennifer (28 October 2013). "Second cross-city tram link gets green light". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  10. ^ Charlotte Dobson (1 November 2015). "Pictured: First trams tested on Manchester's Second City Crossing line as Metrolink aim to have Exchange Square open for Christmas". men.
  11. ^ Jennifer Williams (28 October 2013). "Second cross-city Metrolink tram link gets green light". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  12. ^ "Metrolink Capital Update" (PDF). TfGM. 2 October 2015.
  13. ^ "Metrolink Second City Crossing set to open". British Trams Online. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Exchange Square". TfGM. Retrieved 28 January 2018.

External links

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