“If you can imagine anything, it’s probably happened on the network. A few weeks ago we had a snake that somebody had brought on at the airport and it got into the roof panels.
“Every day there is something really different or bizarre that happens. Anything you can imagine, that has happened.”
Ian Davies, Metrolink’s network director is speaking to the Manchester Evening News within the heart of the tram network’s Trafford depot. On a typical day, the service takes 140,000 people across Greater Manchester covering over 100km and 99 tram stops.
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It’s a big operation with around 1,100 people employed directly and, the Manchester Evening News was told, around 100 different contractors. Currently run by KeolisAmey, it is overseen by Transport for Greater Manchester.
The service is the most extensive light rail system in the UK and in 2024, 46 million people used the service. On a typical day, around 120 trams are out on the network but this can rise to 130 out of a total of 147 on busy days setting off at 5am and coming back at 2am.
Operating in Manchester since 1992, the ‘iconic’ trams are now part of the region’s identity. However to transport this number of people is no easy task, especially when dealing with major events at the Etihad, Parklife festival, or extreme weather.
Behind the scenes at TfGM(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
To find what it’s really like, the Manchester Evening News was given an exclusive tour of the 24-hour operation that keeps the whole region moving.
When the last trams come into the depot at 2am, another team gets to work in the repair workshop bringing in any trams that need a bit of TLC. This is no easy task when you need them back out on the network the next day.
With more trams offline due to ongoing engineering works, the plan is to catch up on the backlog of repairs so they are ahead of schedule. Mike Todd, Head of Rolling Stock Delivery, said: “It’s like Christmas day for me.
“We have got a load of trams I can work on. We are planning extra resources and get ahead of the schedule which will improve the reliability.”
More trams will be serviced to take advantage of several lines closing for engineering works(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Across Metrolink’s two depots, around 14 trams are serviced every week with teams working through the day and overnight, stopping only for one day a year at Christmas.
It’s not just busier days that are throwing up challenges. After recent heatwaves, Mr Todd said they are starting to adapt all their trams to better deal with the hot weather. This should mean fewer breakdowns ahead and will ‘make sure that next summer we are not suffering with the same issues of reliability’.
While services stop running on Christmas Day, things do not completely go to sleep. With live wires still running, staff are still watching from the service’s control room keeping an eagle eye on the entire network.
Metrolink network director Ian Davies (left) and Head of planning and performance Steve Mabey(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
On a normal day, the control room shows exactly where the trams are, how the service is operating, and live CCTV feeds. The atmosphere was very calm.
At the front of the room is a huge screen showing every tramline stretching across Greater Manchester and moving along them are little squares. These squares are the trams moving in real time with the colours showing whether they’re on time or running late.
While not quite the headquarters of MI6, you can see what is happening across the region. If an incident occurs, Metrolink know right away – though when the Manchester Evening News was there, everything was quiet.
It’s not always like this. When the Manchester Marathon took place earlier this, the record was broken for the amount of people using the trams with over 200,000 people ferried about and for major events, planning starts months in advance.
Steve Mabey, Metrolink’s Head of Planning and Performance, said: “For something like Parklife, we were looking at other events and how it integrates. This year we had Take That at the Etihad, we had Lily Allen. We were looking at how we can best manage the service and the crowds.
“You do not want to link two events on the service. You try to keep those crowds separate.”
Despite having to move thousands of people after matches or concerts, this is just a normal day for those on shift(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Such events though are now just routine to deal with. Mr Mabey said they often find drivers will offer to do extra services to make sure everyone gets home, adding: “It’s become business as usual. Football is just another thing.
“There’s a significant stadium on our doorstep. We have got a significant amount of people to move but it’s business as usual. You come into the control room and it’s just like a normal day.”
A former tram driver himself, he told the Manchester Evening News: “It’s a good job. People are saying it’s well paid and it’s got decent benefits. I never thought I would do it. I was doing dead end office jobs before but I love doing this.”
However passengers on several lines facing disruption as part of a £150m investment into improving and fixing the tracks trams run on over the summer. By March 2027, 6km of track will be replaced using 12,000 tonnes of new rail including on one of the busiest tramlines in the world.
People will have to get replacement buses for the time being but in the long run, they have been promised trams run more efficiently and reliably. Currently there are speed restrictions that ‘feel incredibly slow’ on parts of the track, particularly around Cornbrook, which are in place for safety reasons.
This is because the tracks have gradually deteriorated over time so trams have to go slower on certain corners to make sure the service is still safe. However once the works are complete, those speed restrictions will be lifted allowing services to make up for any lost time if needed.
Cornbrook is one of the busiest light-rail stations in Europe(Image: Vincent Cole – Manchester Evening News)
Mr Mabey said: “Some of the track is 30 years old and is being swapped out. Cornbrook is also one of the busiest stops in Europe. There’s a tram going through it every 30 seconds. 30 years of wear and you have three lines that join a single section.
“This is the first time there has been work at that critical pinch point of this scale. This will impact the whole of the west of the network. It will close the west of the network for the most of three weeks.”
However he said the work needed to be done as ‘everything goes through Cornbrook’.
Mr Mabey added: “You have got so many trams going through at 5mph when they should be going 20mph.
“It’s a massive impact and it’s impacting the timetable and providing people with a worse service. That is the whole point of this investment which is to make it really efficient when you are commuting or going to events.
“It gives us that resilience. That is really important that we do build that resilience for the future. Once we have installed those tracks, we won’t have to go back for another 20 years to do it again.”