Transport bosses do Italian job on Metrolink line

18:55, 29 Oct 2025Updated 19:09, 29 Oct 2025

The Trafford Palazzo Metrolink stop with the giant Primark store in the background

“It depends on how much I’ve had to drink,” said one shopper when asked to pronounce the name of the newly branded tram stop ‘Trafford Palazzo’.

They’ve done an Italian job on the Metrolink line that takes shoppers to the home of Legoland and Primark by renaming Barton Dock Road stop ‘Trafford Palazzo’ after the shopping complex it serves.

We’re told that Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) bosses have rebranded the station to make it easier to identify, although one shopper said it was pretty obvious.

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Translated out of Italian, a palazzo is a palace or mansion. That sounds very grand, but for the average Mancunian, it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

General view of the Trafford Palazzo shopping complex

The shopping centre that used to be called Barton Square was rebranded Trafford Palazzo in 2021. TfGM has now followed suit by renaming the tram stop — one step along from the Trafford Centre station — with the same name.

Asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) to try his hand at pronouncing it, Brian Redshaw, 80, from Timperley did a manful job before saying: “It all depends on how much I’ve had to drink.

Brian Redshaw

“But I don’t really think the name makes any difference. People will still come here. When you think about it, this place [Trafford Palazzo] will be here for the next 100 years, no question about it. The quality of the work in here is unbelievable.”

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Donna Jackson, 59, from Swinton, was not impressed. “I don’t like the name at all. They should’ve left it alone. It’s just marketing nonsense,” she said.

Paul Teece, 67, now lives in Blackpool, but is originally from Stockport. He and his family are staying at the Premier Inn in Manchester ‘Trafford Palazzo’ out of his mouth as they stood on the platform waiting for the next tram.

Paul Teece

“It’s a bit of a mouthful, definitely,” he said. “I prefer Barton because it’s a lot easier to say and, as far as I am concerned, we’re stuck with it.”

Leonie Brown, 55, is from South London and was visiting the north with a friend. She pronounced the words ‘Trafford Palazzo’ with a distinctly southern timbre and went on to say: “I think the name takes it away from the originality of the Trafford Centre.

“They say if something isn’t broken, don’t fix it. I think Trafford Palazzo is a bit of a mouthful.

“Why are they trying to make something sound more interesting by making it Italian? It doesn’t make sense.”

Beryl McKerracher, 82, said: “I like the name. I passed comment on it when I came in. It’s the first time. We have used the Metrolink, but I have difficulty walking so we now come by car.”

Beryl McKerracher

But 19-year-old pals from Urmston, Laila Squire and Chela Latorre, liked the name-change – so maybe it’s a generational thing.

“It sounds better than Barton Dock Road,” said Chela. “We like coming here on the tram.”

Laila said: “The name matters. I can understand why they changed it.”

Another shopper, who did not wish to be named, said: “I don’t know why they (TfGM) think that changing the name will make the tram stop easier to identify.

“But everyone around here knew it and still knows it as Barton Dock Road, although I guess if you’re visiting from out of town it’s much clearer.”

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