MediaCityUK to Ashton-under-Lyne***FULL JOURNEY***Manchester Metrolink (via Piccadilly)

This is the full journey on the Manchester Metrolink Tram from MediaCityUK to Ashton-under-Lyne on the Metrolink Eccles/Ashton line, which is the Orange Line on the Metrolink map.
This journey was filmed on Saturday 3rd April 2021. The service was formed of a single Manchester Metrolink M5000 tram which meant the tram only took up half the length of the platforms along the route. I was sat at the front of the front section.

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MediaCityUK (depart) 00:14
Harbour City 02:23
Anchorage 03:58
Salford Quays 06:03
Exchange Quay 07:59
Pomona 10:21
Cornbrook 12:52
Deansgate Castlefield 15:53
St Peters Square 21:17
Piccadilly Gardens 24:34
Piccadilly 27:42
New Islington 30:32
Holt Town 32:27
Etihad Campus 34:12
Velopark 35:56
Clayton Hall 38:39
Edge Lane 41:43
Cemetery Road 43:56
Droylsden 46:11
Audenshaw 49:01
Ashton Moss 51:38
Ashton West 54:16
Ashton-under-Lyne 56:46

This Metrolink route opened in stages from 1999 to 2013 as part of the phase 2 to phase 3b Metrolink extensions, however the central section from Cornbrook to Piccadilly had been opened as part of the original Metrolink route in 1992.

The length of the Orange Line (MediaCity to Ashton) is around 8 miles long and has a top operating speed of 50mph. Unlike the original Metrolink routes to Altrincham and Bury the Airport line is almost an entirely new alignment built for Metrolink, although the section from Cornbrook to Deansgate Castlefield does follow a disused railway line.

Trams on this route have a mixture of on street sections and dedicated Tram Only sections. The section between MediaCity and St Peters Square mostly runs on dedicated tram only sections with the section from St Peters Square to Audenshaw having large on street sections. From Audenshaw to Ashton it is mostly Tram only sections along the side on the road, this Metrolink route is one of the routes with the largest amount of on street running in Manchester.

Originally services on this line were operated between Eccles and Piccadilly until 2010 when the MediaCityUK section opened. Once the route to Ashton opened in 2013 services originally operated as Eccles to Ashton and MediaCityUK to Piccadilly services, however more recently MediaCityUK services were extended through to Ashton-under-Lyne. There are proposals to extend the Metrolink beyond Ashton towards Stalybridge.

Services on this route were operated as part of the Blue line when this was filmed, although on this date the section from MedaiCity to Eccles was closed meaning it was basically an Orange line route. In the normal timetable Orange line services operate daytime Monday to Saturday only with Evening and Sunday services to MediaCityUK being Blue line services to Eccles reversing at MediaCityUK. The current service pattern on this route is a service every 10 minutes as part of the Blue line but the normal service frequency is every 12 minutes on both the Orange and Blue lines forming a service every 6 minutes between Harbour City and Ashton.

The overall journey time for the Orange line is just under an hour. The tram is often slower than bus services on the east part of this route but services different places. Although on the west part of this route there is usually a train every 30 minutes from Manchester Victoria to Ashton which is much faster than the tram, the tram is usually the more heavily used service due to it being more frequent and going in the the centre of Manchester.

Along the Metrolink Orange line there are 2 direct and 1 out of station interchanges with National Rail services. At Deansgate Castlefield there is interchange with Deansgate station which is served by local Northern services. At Piccadilly the Metrolink stop is below the National Rail station and at Manchester Piccadilly you can change on to Northern, TransPennine Express, Transport for Wales, Avanti West Coast, Cross Country and East Midlands Railway services. At Ashton-under-Lyne there is an out of station interchange with Ashton-under-Lyne railway station which is served by local Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge services.

Journey sections:
MediaCityUK to Harbour City 00:00
Harbour City to Pomona 02:45
Pomona to Cornbrook 11:08
Cornbrook to Deansgate Castlefield 13:27
Deansgate Castlefield to St Peters Square 16:42
St Peters Square to Piccadilly 22:05
Piccadilly to Etihad Campus 28:22
Etihad Campus to Clayton Hall 34:24
Clayton Hall to Audenshaw 39:16
Audenshaw to Ashton-under-Lyne 49:34

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