Speeding up Manchester's Airport Line - Metrolink Insights #4

See maps of my ideas here:
[2] Sale Link (Altrincham-Airport Line): www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edi...
[3] Wythenshawe Loop: www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edi...
Filmed at:
Sale Water Park, Northern Moor, Moor Road, Baguley*, St Werburgh's Road*, Barlow Moor Road, Wythenshawe Park, Victoria, Exchange Square, Market Street, Shudehill*, Piccadilly Gardens*, St Peter's Square, Cornbrook, Trafford Bar, Sale, Roundthorn, Manchester Airport, and Robinswood Road.
(2023.10.15~2024.01.03)
*filmed near this tram stop ^^^
Manchester Metrolink map:
www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edi...
Thank you for watching!
Please consider subscribing so I can make more videos like this!
Subscriptions to the channel are completely free, and you'll get notified of new video releases. Your support means a lot :)
0:00 - INTRO
0:43 - 1.1 | Why It's So Slow [Wythenshawe Section]
1:06 - 1.2 | Why It's So Slow [Street-Running]
1:28 - 1.3 | Why It's So Slow [Sharp Turns]
1:49 - 2.1 | City Crossings [Market St vs. Exchange Sq.]
2:12 - 2.2 | City Crossings [Reasoning]
2:25 - 2.3 | City Crossings [Speed Restrictions]
2:34 - 2.4 | City Crossings [Tram Congestion]
3:00 - 3.1 | Linking Altrincham & Airport Lines [Visual]
4:04 - 3.2 | Linking Altrincham & Airport Lines [Reasoning]
4:43 - 4.1 | Wythenshawe Loop [Introduction]
5:14 - 4.2 | Wythenshawe Loop [Visual]
5:49 - 4.3 | Wythenshawe Loop [Renaming Man. Airport]
6:03 - 4.4 | Wythenshawe Loop [Disusing Roundthorn]
6:15 - 5 | Route Summary (with timings)
6:52 - 6.1 | What About The Old Line? [Potential Route]
7:17 - 6.2 | What About The Old Line? [Both Routes]
7:27 - OUTRO
8:18 - END
Tags:
trams, tram, light rail, light-rail, light, rail, manchester, greater manchester, manchester metrolink, metrolink manchester, metrolink, light rail manchester, manchester light rail, photography, photos, showcase, photo album, metrolink insights, photo insights metrolink, didsbury, rochdale, ashton, ashton-under-lyne, east didsbury, withington, chorlton, old trafford, trafford, altrincham, manchester airport, wythenshawe town centre, wythenshawe, oldham and rochdale, eccles, salford quays, spring, summer, autumn, winter, 2023, 2024, new videos, new pictures, new photos, new metrolink insights, new metrolink, new manchester metrolink, tram system, light rail network, bury, whitefield, radcliffe, prestwich, besses o' th' barn, anchorage, mediacityuk, exchange quay, baguley, benchill, crossacres, peel hall, moss nook, woodhouse park, heald green, northern moor, northenden, sharston, droylsden, audenshaw, etihad campus, old trafford stadium, etihad stadium, manchester city, manchester united, tram spotting, tram, spotting, tramspotting, tram-spotting, compliations trams, tram compilation, modern trams, modern tram compilation, manchester trams, metro system, metro, manchester metro,tram,metrolink,metrolink insights,trams,tramway,light rail,metro,metro system,piccadilly station,manchester piccadilly,manchester trams,manchester light rail,manchester metrolink,metrolink trams,3085,#3085,piccadilly,piccadilly gardens,ashton,weaste,eccles,3140,#3140,new trams, youtube,youtube shorts,shorts,3001,#3001,#3009,3009,tramway,trams,manchester ,manchester,manchester tram,manchester metrolink,metrolink insights,light rail,metrolink,tram,shaw,shaw manchester,shaw and crompton manchester,tram ride manchester,tram ride shaw and crompton,tram ride shaw,derker,Shaw and Crompton,Derker,Oldham Mumps,Rochdale Railway Station,Rochdale Town Centre,Victoria,winter tram ride,december tram ride,quiet tram ride,quiet morning tram ride,quiet morning train ride,peaceful tram ride,tram scenery manchester,trams,mcrmetrolink,metrolink tram,metrolink insights,metrolink 2023,manchester trams 2023,manchester 2023,2023,2023 trams manchester,manchester metrolink 2023,metrolink insights 2023,trams 2023,17 november 2023,friday 17 november 2023,shudehill,market street,cornbrook,pomona,iwm north,salford quays,mediaCityUK,New Islington,Holt Town,Etihad Campus,tramways,tram,manchester trams,metrolink trams manchester,mancs metrolink,metrolink,mcr,tran
Chapters:

[@TheJononator]

Speeding up trams to the Airport is a good idea, but your way of going about it has some flaws. Firstly, the link at Sale would fail any cost benefit analysis. The cost of tunnelling or bridging the M60 would far outweigh the benefits it would bring. If you were going to do it along with building the Wythenshawe loop, it would probably sink the entire project at the planning stage. Nice thing to have but just building the loop would already bring massive benefits, both quicker and cheaper. Also, using the Sale link to get from Altrincham to the Airport would be ridiculous from both a time and cost aspect. Taking the bus would be quicker and cheaper (a zone 3&4 single costs 40p more than a bus single), as well as not requiring any passengers to travel in the completely wrong direction to get there. If you really must connect Altrincham and the Airport with a tram, sending it around the south of Hale to connect with the loop would be quicker for passengers and probably have a better benefit cost ratio than the Sale link, with the added bonus of being direct. Or just run an express bus at a frequent enough interval. Some nitpicks: Don't rename Sale Water Park. It'll just result in confusion and people will still refer to the old stop as Sale Water Park. Priory Gardens would be a better name. Don't rename Manchester Airport. Just why? What's the point? It's named after the train/bus station and a rename would be unnecessary. You're right, drop the Manchester Airport prefix from Terminal 2. The name Terminal 2 already implies it's at an airport.

[@tramographyMCR]

One of the things I most regret about making this video is that some of those decisions I might have just made without thinking twice about it, like the Sale Water Park naming, or the Manchester Airport rename, or the Junction 6 tunnel. This video really was just to put an idea out there, but you actually gave it a reality check with this comment. You're getting a pin right now

[@BCrossing]

It was always clear to me that the line was very focused on local service (circuitous routing) rather than being a real, viable airport link. Therefore this video puts my thoughts into a full mini documentary! Thanks for this wonderful high quality video

[@DavE-bh8lz]

Good video. Look forward to more like this. I think The Airport was always imagined simply as a "destination", rather than a specific, express service to it from the city.

[@michaeljohndennis2231]

As your latest Irish subscriber, living 21 years in Manchester, when I used to fly home to Ireland from Manchester Airport up to 2010, I’d nearly always get the train from Manchester Piccadilly, preferably an express service - when I used to get the National Express Eurolines 880 coach from Leeds via Manchester and Liverpool to Holyhead and Dublin (now withdrawn) its first stop was always Manchester Airport - and I was also aware of similar coach services from Manchester (including Shudehill) to Liverpool Airport - thing is though, although I’m familiar with most of the Metrolink lines, the Airport line is not one that I have been on yet - I will say though that the newer Metrolink compares well with the LUAS Trams and the DART trains in Dublin and clearly, Metrolink are doing a good job 🇮🇪☘️🇬🇧❤️

[@AutumnBosco]

This is my first time watching any video about Manchester's trams. Very enjoyable, high quality content!

[@tramographyMCR]

Thanks for the kind words! More to come

[@Croz89]

I think it's pretty much the same reasons the Eccles, and to a somewhat lesser extent the Ashton line is so slow. Sharp corners, lots of street running, indirect route. Metrolink is a system where the quality of your journey really depends on the line you're using and if you're crossing the city centre. They can make some adjustments and extensions to speed things up but ultimately Metrolink need to start tunnelling or elevating sections to get them away from traffic (and in the case of the city centre, pedestrians too) if they want to significantly increase speeds throughout much of the network, akin to Stuttgart or Karlsruhe. Probably starting with the city centre, if they could have downsized Pic-Vicc and made it into a pre-metro spine for the Metrolink that would have solved a lot of the problems we have now.

[@tramographyMCR]

What do you mean by the problems we have now? I mean, there's a lot, but which ones specifically are you referencing when you talk about the Picc-Vic idea being reduced to a pre-metro spine?

[@Croz89]

@@tramographyMCR For that specifically it's the slowness of crossing the city centre, understandably so because there are lots of pedestrians and cyclists milling about, and there's also a lot of congestion. I think it's one of the main things slowing the system down. And really the only way to change that significantly is to tunnel. What I was considering is if the Pic-Vicc scheme could have been downsized from heavy to light rail (basically making the tunnels and stations smaller) which then could have formed the start of the Metrolink, similar to pre-metro style systems in other European cities.

[@joeldavidhardy]

Just subscribed! Interesting video! I recently filmed a video on the Metrolink and also done the Airport line, it is very slow! Wished I done the Rochdale line instead. I’ll do that next time I’m there. Good video 😊

[@videonut1988]

BeeNetwork needs to hire you!

[@electro_sykes]

the metrolink and bus is for surrounding areas, if you wanna go into manchester, take the train

[@tramographyMCR]

The Metrolink is faster on other lines. If the train line is down, the only options are bus and tram. Tram should be faster than 60 mins from the city centre, because compared to 20 mins by train, people will think the journey time on the tram is similar. It isn't

[@electro_sykes]

@@tramographyMCR true they need like a tram-train that can run the existing train line between the airport and manchester CBD, then the tram switches onto light rail lines from there to go through major CBD destinantions and then outwards to the suburbs

[@UranusMcVitieFish-yd7oq]

The Styal line is already at near capacity (and that's after cutting the number of stopping services re the lesser used stations) with the commuter services sharing slots with freight and express passenger services. There really isn't the scope to introduce tram/trains, even if freight were diverted where possible via Stockport.

[@worldeuro]

I love your channel so muchh, very informative and underrated

[@tramographyMCR]

I appreciate that!

[@LA12901]

This is a great video, I’ve always wondered why the airport line is so slow. One small thing, might be worth reducing the music volume slightly but I really want to see more stuff like this! 😊

[@tramographyMCR]

Thanks for the feedback, and there's more to come!

[@pn112upfast]

Very interesting thank you 👍

[@tramographyMCR]

*Some things I forgot to mention in this video:* v v v v v Yes, Metrolink speed signs are in MPH. ======================== Multiple fast local transport connections to the airport are essential, especially for people who aren't used to Manchester. People visiting the city for the first time, maybe from a different country, most likely won't know just how long it takes to get to the airport by tram, an hour, as opposed to the train, which takes less than 20 minutes. Also, if for some reason, trains to the airport aren't available, the only public transport options available are buses and trams. Since most people believe (correctly) that most buses are slower than trams, they will pick the tram, which takes just as long. ------------------------------------------------ 40 minutes is about the best I could do. An option involving a tram-train connection from Timperley (Altrincham Line) to Baguley (Airport Line) would take 45 minutes from Victoria to the Airport via the western part of the Airport Loop. ------------------------------------------------ From Deansgate-Castlefield in the city centre, the journey time on a tram (using this -> 6:46) is still decent compared to the train (Train: 28 min, Tram: 33 min). The total 41 minutes comes from the slow city centre street-running. ======================== ======================== There are still a few things that could be improved to make the route even faster. 1. An *active* level crossing on Hawkridge Drive (between Northern Moor and Baguley) so that trams don't have to slow down from 40 to 15mph while crossing the road. 2. A bridge (or maybe a tunnel) from Wythenshawe Hospital to Newall Road that avoids the sharp turns (5:24) ======================== I'm sure there's more, but I have to stop writing this comment at some point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@dasy2k1]

A look at the proposed orbital line would also be great... I would build it as follows Bury via pimhole, Fairfield general hospital, over the roch to heywood south via Middleton joining the Rochdale line at freehold Leave south of Failsworth via Newton heath, Clayton Vale joining the Ashdon line heading east just before edge Lane Turn right at Audenshaw through Denton to join the east didsbuy line at its extension to Stockport for a short way where it would branch via Cheadle to join the Wythenshawe loop of the airport line near benchill Along the link you proposed to Stretford off again down Barton dock road to join the Trafford centre line which would then be extended to meet an extension to the Eccles line at patricroft And then maybe through Salford, Pendlebury to prestwich to join back to the bury line

[@parksung4800]

Manchester airport never had a tram stop when i was a kid.... time flies

[@tramographyMCR]

Opened in Nov 2014

[@PsychicLord]

Take your idea to the City Mayor.

[@tramographyMCR]

Way ahead of you :) Got to wait a little for the current issues to be solved though Issues with the Metrolink I mean

[@busestransporta-z781]

Nice feedback!

[@tramographyMCR]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@busestransporta-z781]

@@tramographyMCR yes I did!

[@michaelbattman2971]

To defend the line; the time you give is to Victoria, which is the far north of the city. I suggest if you need to get to GMex or near the Midland Hotel or MOSI it is quicker to get the tram.

[@tramographyMCR]

A train from Manchester Airport to Piccadilly, and then a tram to St Peter's Square-ish is quicker than just a tram, if that's what you mean.

[@michaelbattman2971]

@@tramographyMCR Yes

[@jaimiepotts7638]

I think there is a better route than this - at Barlow Moor Road stop, have the tram continue along Mauldeth Road West past where it currently joins the South Manchester line at St. Werburgh's Road. When it reaches Princess Road, have it make a left turn and then run on a viaduct down the centre of Princess Road (or just at grade if we're being cheap). At the top of Princess Road, it then passes under Mancunian Way onto Medlock Street then across the junction with Whitworth Street and rejoins the current network on Lower Moseley Street. With this routing, Metrolink can serve loads of areas of inner city South Manchester that are currently starved of public transport such as Whalley Range, Moss Side and Hulme.

[@tramographyMCR]

This idea would take an extra 5 minutes to get from Barlow Moor Road to St Peter's Square (than it currently does [17 min]), and that's not accounting for the possible traffic on the A road the trams would run on, especially Princess Road. *Also, there wouldn't be much room for tram stations to be constructed here, as it would require lanes to be taken off of Princess Road, as a double track cannot fit into the central reservation section. A single track could fit, but then trams in both directions could not operate well.* The trams could operate on the road, and the tram stop be in the middle, but that would require trams to stop in the middle of the busy A road. A "tram only" section would not solve this problem. Also, Lower Mosley Street has complicated junctions already, thanks to the 2CC, though that is a minor issue. This would also require a very tight turn for the trams to get onto Princess Road from Mauldeth Road W, which might not even be possible (minimum turn radius is 25m). Hulme, Rusholme, Whalley Range etc. has loads of pretty fast bus connections already actually. Can't step foot in Piccadilly Gardens bus station without seeing a bus to Chorlton via the university or the royal infirmary or Withington Road. In fact, there are already buses on Princess Road. Whalley Range could still be served by tram in the future, though, on the Fallowfield Loop, the old railway line converted to a walking route

[@tramographyMCR]

Having the trams get on and off the road like they do on the Ashton Line and Eccles Line would not be good for the possible disruptions it would cause for other traffic, as this road is very busy compared to Ashton New and Eccles New Road. It would also make the line even slower.

[@Electra7241]

there's no spare capacity at Cornbrook in the "Bridgewater Bottleneck" for any extra South Manchester traffic, something which I warned TfGM about many years ago - Cornbrook needs to be redeveloped into a four-platform stop to cater for growth, possibly by using the adjacent vacant land, and quadrupling the line to Deansgate/Castlefield, plus a third city crossing along Deansgate; meanwhile why not abolish the stupid 20mph speed restriction on Hardy Lane?

[@tramographyMCR]

It's 20mph because of the cars. Not sure why it's 20mph though, should be 30

[@steveberwick4417]

And why is an airport tram totally devoid of any luggage space. Did they not think that people travelling to an airport just might have a suitcase or two?

[@tramographyMCR]

It also goes past a ton of places before the airport. A tram isn't a train, and there isn't much room, unfortunately. It's designed to take you places as quick as possible, which it does not do on the Airport Line. Therefore, I made this video

[@broman178]

​@@tramographyMCRThe Edinburgh Trams have luggage racks provided, so its definitely possible to have them on trams. Although of course you could argue that the trams there are much longer and have more space for that compared to the Metrolink.

[@mikefish8226]

To be fair, the newest Northern trains, that service the airport, don't have luggage racks just the overhead racks. Public transport in the north is a mess.

[@1258-Eckhart]

Well researched and some interesting proposals but the background "music" is very disturbing.

[@tramographyMCR]

Thanks for the feedback, got another person saying that too Will keep that in mind for next video

[@davidpanton3192]

Manchester is not alone. Edinburgh Trams' meandering route to the Airport means that it is slower than the bus!

[@alexisdespland4939]

maybe also extend i the line to the fright part of the airport for all the employees.

[@mubzytv]

If the government were going ahead with HS2 to Manchester, there would be another tram stop there too unless Airport West is where the HS2 stop would be

[@tramographyMCR]

Nope, the HS2 Manchester Airport plan was cancelled in October 2023. Airport West is not where the station would have been, it would have been closer to Davenport Green, on the other side of the M56

[@Seb512]

Great ideas, not a fan of trams myself but for sure an improvement. Just remember that tram speed limit signs are in km/h, not mph so 30km/h = roughly 20mph etc

[@tramographyMCR]

They actually are weirdly in mph, I know this for absolute certain. Top speed is 80kph/50mph. There are a few references to this in Don Coffey's Drivers Eye View videos. I'll link to one if I can

[@tramographyMCR]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqnGc4ePn5ZgiK8si=Czsi6zngFKhIQZtK skip to 8:36

[@Seb512]

@@tramographyMCR it must vary per county then. Down in Notts they are definitely km/h and it states this on government websites as well, but fair play to Manchester as mph makes a lot more sense

[@tramographyMCR]

Yeah NET is kph

[@Seb512]

@@tramographyMCR though in reality km/day haha

[@screwdriver5181]

A sensible idea. That’s the problem !

[@tramographyMCR]

What do you mean?

[@Traumahawk007]

Interesting presentation but Tram not designed for speed, train to City for speed. Airport loop & T2 will be built, possibly with announcement for Stockport. It would be nice to do something on Stockport. Background music should be a little lower but great work

[@ianparker-mt8mo]

The issue is MAG group who own Manchester airport, have just spent over a billion pounds on upgrading Terminal 2, and building numerous large multstorey car parks , so they can cash in on car parking fees and drop off charges from passengers and airport staff , and are not interested in improving public transport access to the Airport , even thou this would improve the local environment with less air pollution and traffic congestion on local roads and the M60 and M56 ,so i can not see any improvements soon .

[@jonasnisse4257]

MAG is partly owned by Greater Manchester CA so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Also people are still driving in from Cheshire etc so there's still lot of demand for car parks.

[@leopold7562]

Makes sense. Pity the development has been largely nonsensical though. I still don’t understand why the tram-train is still under review after so long, considering that the Sheffield Supertram has had one running to Rotherham for ages. Such a tram would mean finally getting a tram on the Glossop and Hadfield route, which would ease traffic visiting that area

[@tramographyMCR]

Me, personally, I don't agree with the tram train development. I think that the tram network should stay separate from National Rail, but the connections to Glossop/Hadfield and Marple etc. could be useful. Still deciding on my opinion. It's also taking a long time (as you've said)

[@Croz89]

As a regular commuter on said railway line, I'm not sure a tram-train conversion would be a good idea. Passengers from Glossop/Hadfield won't be keen on having journey times extended if the track now jumps off the viaduct at Ashbury's to join the Ashton line or whatever. The train is fairly fast and frequent, 2tph is adequate for most commuters on the line, and there's really only capacity issues near rush hour, which could easily be mitigated by restoring 3tph at peak times as was the case before COVID. Really all that might need doing is an infill station at Gamesley to serve the estate there.

[@stephenbagwell8275]

Does the tram not reach 50 mph between Trafford Bar & St Werburgh's Road?

[@tramographyMCR]

It does, but then slows down to 20mph and then 10mph before getting onto Mauldeth Road West and running down it at 30mph to get to Barlow Moor Road stop. After that, it runs at 20mph for about a minute before going over a bridge at 40mph, and finally slowing down to 25 on the approach to Sale Water Park. The other reason I came up with the second idea was because it connects the busiest Metrolink line closer to the Airport by tram. It does also speed up the route by 5 mins

[@stephenbagwell8275]

@@tramographyMCR Should the announcements on the trams say “this is a tram to Manchester Airport (eventually)” It does stop within walking distance of Wythenshawe Hospital

[@TheDancingGamer01]

Its because its a Tram, Thats the Train's job to get from A to B quicker

[@tramographyMCR]

What if the train line is down

[@DrTIPUSUK]

The mayor of Manchester needs to hire you right now

[@dylancarter1831]

I rode that about 4 years ago and a lot of anti social behaviour on that part of the line. I won't ride it again, lol.

[@tramographyMCR]

Yeah, Wythenshawe's full of "them" unfortunately

[@dylancarter1831]

@@tramographyMCR Oh that's a shame to hear. I had hoped the powers that be might have done something about it but as usual they haven't, lol :)

[@tramographyMCR]

@@dylancarter1831 They've certainly reduced in numbers

[@dylancarter1831]

@@tramographyMCR well if it's improving it's a start. When I was last on their, a gang of youths with scarves were mouthing off to those travel safe officers. No fear those kids had.

[@andrewnelson4057]

You've never heard of a Tramstop Name Changing Locations. Oldam Mumps...?

[@tramographyMCR]

Well, the original Oldham Mumps tram station was disused, so I guess it doesn't really count

[@tramographyMCR]

I should have worded it differently

[@desiro3503]

Airport central… airport west… terminal 2…. What in the SCR

[@tramographyMCR]

That's what I was thinking lol

[@worldeuro]

I noticed that lol

[@tramographyMCR]

When I was coming up with the names and I listed them, "Stepford Airport Central" and "Airport Terminal 2" popped into my head

[@jayfielding1333]

30mph seems ridiculously slow.

[@tramographyMCR]

Mixed with other traffic on the roads it's really not that slow for a tram. Though the sharp 90 degree turns are the main problem.

[@stevecampbell7589]

The speed on the tram is KM

[@tramographyMCR]

For most tram systems in the UK, that is true, but speed limit signs on the Manchester Metrolink are in mph.

[@stevecampbell7589]

@@tramographyMCR no, they ain't. They do 30kph on roads. Which is around 20mph

[@tramographyMCR]

@@stevecampbell7589 I assure you it's 30mph they do on roads. The speed they travel at on higher speed lines like the Altrincham Line is 50mph, not 50kph (30mph).

[@stevecampbell7589]

@tramographyMCR ALL diamond signs posted are in KPH as per law and highway code. Trams are not allowed to travel as fast as road traffic on street running due to the fact they can not steer or stop as quick as vehicles with rubber tyres. They might do 50mph on the odd stretch of old railway line as ALL main lines in the UK have their speed signs in MPH

[@tramographyMCR]

@@stevecampbell7589 kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqnGc4ePn5ZgiK8si=DUOWy-SHk3pESrPb&t=512s

[@stephenblackhurst2425]

‘…the main airport serving Greater Manchester’. Really poorly expressed. It’s the 3rd biggest airport in UK and serves a far wider catchment area (arguably about half the UK); for many routes, it is the only alternative to London. Was on the tram recently with two people from the Shetland Isles who had flown to Aberdeen, then to Manchester, to go to Dubai.

[@tramographyMCR]

Was just focusing on Greater Manchester for this video, but good point.

[@tramographyMCR]

If I focused on the broader area that Manchester Airport served, the video would lose its purpose

[@stephenblackhurst2425]

@@tramographyMCR I don’t think it would; by using that expression you reduced the airport down to some small provincial operation serving about 3 million people.

[@tramographyMCR]

But the video is about the Airport Line on the Manchester Metrolink.

[@peterdean8009]

Interesting suggestions. But, please... next time get rid of the bongo. It makes the commentary more difficult to hear.

[@tramographyMCR]

Noted, and thank you for the feedback There are subtitles as well if you can't hear it well, but I'll still make sure the music doesn't draw too much attention in future videos

[@TamasKiss-bv9hz]

✌✌✌❤🤍💚

[@Shrike-Valeo]

With how the system has "evolved" over the years, i think the it's simply too far down a dead end. Too much of it is stuck on roads at huge cost already, purely to bring costs down. To spend even more and not do that undermines the original plan. This is one of the reasons more people are driving, this network has become much slower per mile (takes me 45 minutes to go 3 miles), much more expensive and unreliable. And a lot of it is politics - we can't self-fund a proper replacement project like the underground that never was, budgets are being cut, unaffordable apartment blocks are going up only to plug funding cuts and it's replacing London as the place for landlords to dump their money and overcharge on rent. For every minute longer on public transport, working people are stuck paying with their money and free time. It's not paid, it's not fun, it's been bad enough people have passed out on commutes. It impacts home/work balance and limits how available jobs are for people, forcing rent even higher for better connected places. Quality of life will only improve if the service is not restricted to our crappy roads whatsoever, the 7mph corners (WTF), and was restarted from the ground up for the current/future demands, not this amalgam of mess that has only gone downhill the more it expanded. In the grand scheme of the UK economy it would cost next to nothing. take a one-off wealth/tax chunk off the top 1% to pay for it. Many of them caused these problems in the first place.

[@trains_and_walks]

The train is faster. Just get the train😂😂😂 no need to make the tram faster. What pointless video 🤣🤣🤣

[@tramographyMCR]

What if the train line is down? Also, my videos aren't pointless. I very much enjoy making them, as you do with your videos. As they aren't pointless, mine are not either

[@spych102]

When I flew to Manchester from Switzerland I took a train from the airport. It was packed, late, it skipped stops and the train itself was old and smelly! The trams are clean, well run, and just feel more trustworthy. Maybe I’ll change my mind when your trains are fit for purpose.

[@tramographyMCR]

@@spych102 That's certainly a below average experience on the National Rail network. I hope you don't think that the other train services are just as bad. Sorry you had to experience that

[@andreaswiesheu2240]

getting rid of that annoying music would be a good start ;)

[@tramographyMCR]

Got a few comments about that, thanks for the feedback

[@alexverdigris9939]

Music is drowning your voice.