The Metrolink tram network is facing disruption tonight, with the Bury line – which happens to run past Parklife festival – completely suspended.
Transport for Greater Manchester announced that there had been severe damage to an overhead line at Victoria station.
It means that no tram services will be operating from Heaton Park or Bowker Vale, which service the massive Parklife festival.
Instead, gig-goers are being advised to use the dedicated shuttle buses – or to brave the walk back to the city centre.
And while tickets are being accepted on local bus services while the trams are down, it’s a Sunday service with only limited buses available.
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It’s expected that the Bury line will remain shut down until the end of service on Sunday 11 June and may still be down into tomorrow morning.
Repairs are being undertaken throughout tonight and into tomorrow morning.
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Other services are being impacted by the overhead line damage, including the Oldham and Rochdale line which is part-suspended, and other services which are delayed and being re-routed.
Metrolink trams at Manchester Victoria. Credit: TfGM
Parklife shuttle bus services will run into the evening as required to replace trams, with extra staff on hand.
Services from Soccer Aid at Old Trafford are also affected, with passengers advised to change at Cornbrook for journeys onwards.
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TfGM’s Interim Chief Operating Officer, Alex Cropper, said: “We apologise for the disruption to Metrolink services this evening and in particular, to those passengers attending Parklife and Soccer Aid who are affected. We are working hard to resolve the issues as quickly as possible and to minimise disruption to passengers.
“Additional staff will be on hand to support passengers across the network. Passengers are advised to check TfGM’s website for the latest travel updates for Sunday evening and Monday morning.”
Metrolink tweeted: “The Bury line remains completely suspended and is expected to remain suspended until the end of service on Sunday 11 June.
⚠️ The Bury line remains completely suspended and is expected to remain suspended until the end of service on Sunday 11 June.
⛏️ Repairs will take place through tonight and into tomorrow morning.
— Manchester Metrolink 🚊 (@MCRMetrolink) June 11, 2023
“Repairs will take place through tonight and into tomorrow morning.
“No tram services will operate from Heaton Park or Bowker Vale stops this evening after @Parklifefest. For return journeys back to the city centre, please walk or use the shuttle bus service. The bus station is located inside the park, accessed via the North Gate exit.
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“Bus ticket acceptance is in place on the Bury and Rochdale lines this evening.
“However as it is a Sunday night there are a limited number of services operating.”
Tram lines impacted over Parklife weekend
Oldham/Rochdale line is currently suspended between the city centre and Newton Heath and Moston.
East Didsbury line will operate to Exchange Square.
Eccles line will operate to Ashton.
Manchester Airport line will operate to Cornbrook.
Ashton line is experiencing delays.
Altrincham line is experiencing delays.
Bus services accepted trams and travel passes
Tickets and passes can be used on the 17, 18, 41, 52, 53, 56, 66, 90, 95, 97, 98, 112, 117, 118, 119, 135, 156, 163, 524 bus services for the Bury line.
Tickets and passes can be used on the 57, 59, 76, 76a, 81, 83, 114, 149, 181, 182, 409, 411, 415, 471 bus services for the Rochdale line.
Tickets and passes can be used on the 7, 76, 76a 171, 172, 216, 219, 230, 231 bus services for the Ashton line.
Featured image: TfGM
News
Travel warning issued as tens of thousands to descend for Manchester Half Marathon
Daisy Jackson
A travel warning has been issued ahead of the Manchester Half Marathon this weekend, with tens of thousands of runners and spectators expected to arrive in the city.
People are being urged to plan their journeys ahead of time, with significant road closures in place from the city centre as far out as Sale.
Road closures – and subsequent bus diversions – will also affect parts of Stretford, Chorlton, Trafford, and surrounding areas.
Around 32,000 people are expected to take part in the Manchester Half Marathon this Sunday, with thousands more coming out to cheer the runners on.
Transport for Greater Manchester is advising people that the Bee Network trams will be the best way to get around over the weekend.
Extra trams will be operating to provide as much capacity as possible.
Road closures and bus diversions will start on Saturday 3 October and continue until the actual race day on Sunday 4 October, lifting fully by 8.30pm.
Tens of thousands of runners and spectators will descend on Manchester for the half marathon
Earlier this year, the Manchester Marathon led to a record-breaking day for Metrolink trams, with the highest number of passengers ever recorded on a single day in the network’s history.
Whether running or cheering, people are advised to use the Bee Network app to plan their journeys and are strongly encouraged not to drive within the affected areas.
Steve Gilholme, Head of Events at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “The Manchester Half Marathon is another one of those special occasions where the people of Greater Manchester and beyond come together, with thousands of people taking on the challenge and raising money for good causes, while many more will line the route to cheer them on.
“This does mean the city centre and especially trams will be incredibly busy so please plan ahead and give yourself extra time to make journeys.
“The Bee Network app and website will be the best places to get the latest travel information and tap and go contactless payments are the quickest and easiest way to pay.”
You can see all the road closures for the Manchester Half Marathon HERE.
Funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the 14 national museums of the UK are all located in England – including the Imperial War Museum North, and the Science and Industry Museum in our region – and free entry to was first introduced all the way back in 2001, with millions of visitors having benefitted since.
National museums are said to add more than £1 billion a year to the economy, and bring in visitors from all over the world.
In fact, seven of the UK’s 10 most visited museums are national museums, and 7.1 million people visited the Natural History Museum and 6.4 million visited the British Museum in 2025 alone.
The Government has announced that all national museums in the UK will remain free for everyone to visit / Credit: Science Museum Group | Wikimedia Commons
Earlier this year though, the Government committed to working with local leaders and the museum and tourism sectors to explore whether charging overseas visitors could help museums’ finances.
But following this, it’s now believed that charging could deter visitors, and that the impacts and benefits would ‘not be felt equally’ across the sector.
Instead, the free entry will be funded by the £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere Fund – which is providing £760 million for museums – while £600 million of infrastructure funding is supporting national museums and DCMS-sponsored cultural organisations.
The latter funding will be used to address critical maintenance and works to estates, and enable institutions to deliver on their commitments to share collections with visitors from around the world.
Daisy Jackson -
11th June 2023 
