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More major Manchester tram stops to be out of action due to ‘essential track replacements’ next week

Passengers should expect disruption and "plan ahead".

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 17th July 2024

Two more major Manchester tram stops are to be out of action due to ‘essential track replacement work’ next week.

After Transport for Greater Manchester‘s (TfGM) announced last month that no trams would run between Piccadilly and Piccadilly Gardens for a total 17 days from 22 June to 9 July, it has now been confirmed that two more key city centre tram stops are to be out of action from next week – with no services set to run.

This is all due to the ongoing programme of works intended to “maintain and improve” the Metrolink system and ensure tram journeys in Greater Manchester remain “safe, reliable, and accessible”.

As TfGM looks to improve a key part of the Metrolink network in the city centre, no trams will operate between Market Street and Shudehill tram stop while “essential track replacement work” is carried out from Wednesday 24 July until Monday 19 August.  

Passengers travelling between Piccadilly station and Victoria, in either direction, will instead be directed to either board a replacement bus service, or change trams at St Peter’s Square.

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More major Manchester tram stops will be out of action due to ‘essential track replacements’ / Credit: TfGM

A signed walking route will also be put in place between Market Street and Shudehill tram stops.

As well as the tram stops being out of action, TfGM is warning city centre visitors that Shudehill will also be closed to traffic where the Metrolink tracks cross the road between Wednesday 24 July and Monday 5 August, and during this closure, some bus services will be diverted as a result – but information for customers is to be provided at affected bus stops.

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A signed diversion route will be put in place for drivers and cyclists, and access to the Manchester Arndale multi-storey car park will be maintained “at all times” during the works, with businesses remaining “open as usual”, TfGM has reassured.

Disruption to passengers is expected over the next few weeks / Credit: TfGM

As is often the case with maintenance works of this nature, disruption for passengers is to be expected this summer, but TfGM says it will doing “everything we can” to keep disruption “to a minimum”.

Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Metrolink Director, is encouraging anyone travelling to “plan ahead” and “leave plenty of time” for any journeys, adding that: “During these essential works, we will be doing everything we can to keep disruption to a minimum with replacement bus services and signed diversions for vehicles and pedestrians.   

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“We also have support from our traffic signals team to ensure city centre traffic flows as freely as possible.”

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Find out more about the planned tram improvement works on the TfGM website here.

Featured Image – TfGM

News

Oasis finally confirm ‘private ballot’ ticket information for reunion tour

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Oasis ticket prices revealed ahead of huge reunion tour. Credit: Publicity picture, Simon Emmett

Oasis have just announced more information about how tickets will be sold through a ‘private ballot’ for their extra reunion tour dates.

The group added two additional shows at Wembley Stadium after their initial 17 gigs across London, Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff generated huge demand and sold out in a day.

Oasis and Ticketmaster came under fire though for the use of dynamic pricing, which saw ticket prices shoot up by hundreds of pounds by the time people made it through the online queues.

For these additional reunion tour dates at Wembley, ticket sales will look a little different.

They’ll be using a ‘private ballot’, which will give first dibs to those who missed out on the first ticket sale.

You’ll only be invited to register for the sale if you signed into your Ticketmaster account on Saturday 31 August, and joined a queue for a specific show.

And you’ll only receive an invitation if you DIDN’T manage to bag tickets the first time round.

THEN you’ll be able to register for the actual ballot, which still doesn’t guarantee you a ticket but does at least get you into a (hopefully less lengthy) queue.

This is the full statement shared by Oasis:

“Invitations to enter the private ballot will be sent overnight tonight (Saturday) to eligible fans we have been able to identify.

“If you signed into your Ticketmaster UK account on Saturday, 31st August, and were able to join a queue for a specific show, but didn’t get a ticket-then you may be eligible to take part and will receive an email on how to register for the ballot.

“Keep an eye on the inbox associated with your Ticketmaster account, and don’t forget to check your junkmail.

“Once successfully registered, you will be entered into the ballot for a code for access to the final Wembley on sale.

“Due to the demand for the shows and to avoid last week’s long queues, codes will be strictly limited. Entry to the ballot does not guarantee you will receive a code.

“The ballot is only open to invited fans. You must register with the email to which your invitation was sent and which is registered with your Ticketmaster account.

“All other entries will be discounted. If you do not receive an email then unfortunately you will not be eligible for the ballot.

“You will be automatically discounted from the ballot, even if you go through the registration process.”

Featured image: Simon Emmett

News

Manchester Airport named UK’s worst in annual Which? survey for third year running

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK, according to a new survey by Which?… yet again.

The summer travel season may be drawing to a close now, with hundreds of flights having taken off and landed in our region over the last couple of months, but for any Greater Manchester holidaymakers who are still yet to jet off, an annual ranking by consumer choice group Which? has proved to be pretty grim reading.

That’s because several terminals at the UK’s third largest airport have found themselves at the bottom of the list in Which? latest findings.

Manchester Airport has hit back at the survey and defended itself, saying its own passenger surveys suggest people are “much more positive” about the airport, adding that it was “proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world”.

For its annual survey, Which? spoke to nearly 7,000 passengers to gather feedback about their experiences of flying from UK airports over the last 12 months, and asked them to score the airports across 11 categories.

Manchester Airport has been named the worst in the UK for the third year running / Credit: The Manc Group

Some of these categories including seating, staff, toilets, and of course, the queues we all dread at check in, bag drop, passport control, and security.

And just like in both 2022 and again in 2023, it was Manchester Airport Terminal 3 that ranked right at the bottom, receiving the lowest customer satisfaction score of 37%.

Manchester Terminal 1 ranked one place above that with a score of 40%, while Manchester Terminal 2 was a little further up the the list with a score of 51%, and just saw Luton Airport, London Stansted, and Belfast International Airport sandwiched in between it.

According to Which?, some of the complaints it received about Manchester Airport from passengers who responded to the survey this year was that older people struggled with long walks due to travelators being broken since 2021, difficulties with finding a seat, and “horrendous” queues with people apparently being “corralled like cattle”.

As mentioned though, Manchester Airport has slammed Which?’s findings in a formal statement.

The UK’s third largest airport has hit back at the survey results and defended itself / Credit:

Describing the survey as “disappointing to see”, Manchester Airport’s statement reads: “We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.

“That is in stark contrast to Which?, which conducted a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago, asking them to recollect airport experiences that could have been as far back in time as April 2023.

“Which? fully understands that its readers form a narrow group of passengers whose views cannot in any way be taken to represent those of the travelling public at large, but chooses to promote its survey findings as if they do.”

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Manchester Airport says it’s disappointing see Which? “chase cheap headlines” with its “sensational and over-simplified characterisation of airports” and the different roles they play, adding: “To make matters worse, it has printed inaccurate statements about our facilities and security waiting times that paint a more negative picture than reality.

“This is completely unacceptable.”

Featured Image – Manchester Airport Group

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