Hello, I’m finally back visiting tram stops on the Manchester Metrolink. This time, I’m exploring the stops between Pomona and Intu Trafford Centre. It was a lovely day out, despite the intense heat—we reached around 31 degrees today, which was insane. Later this week, I plan to visit the tram stops on the line between Eccles and Manchester Piccadilly, so stay tuned. I started my first journey from Deansgate Castlefield to Pomona, and the trams were incredibly hot, which was crazy.

From Pomona, I took my next tram towards the Trafford Centre, alighting at Wharfside. While this section of the Metrolink network is modern and convenient, it does feel a lot less exciting compared to some of the older lines across Greater Manchester. Routes such as Bury, Rochdale, and East Didsbury have far more character, mainly because they were converted from former heavy railway lines. Travelling along those routes still gives you the feeling of being on a traditional railway, with old alignments, former station sites, and long stretches away from roads that hint at their past life before becoming part of the tram network.

That railway heritage is also the reason why Manchester’s Metrolink uses high-floor trams, unlike systems such as the Sheffield Supertram or the Blackpool Tramway which use low-floor vehicles. When Metrolink was created, many of the converted railway stations already had high platforms in place, so it made far more sense to design the trams around the existing infrastructure rather than completely rebuilding every station. It gives the network a very different feel compared to most tram systems in the UK, especially on the older ex-railway routes where the tram still feels closely connected to Manchester’s railway past.

From Imperial War Museum, having just made it in time for the next tram towards Trafford Centre, I continued along the line to Parkway where, unfortunately, I had around a seven-minute wait before boarding my next service onwards to Village. This part of the network feels far less interesting compared to some of the older Metrolink routes, with much of the journey passing through modern developments and newly built infrastructure rather than the former railway alignments seen elsewhere across Greater Manchester. While it is still impressive to see how much the tram network has expanded into Trafford and the surrounding areas, this section lacks the character and railway heritage that makes lines such as Bury or Rochdale feel much more distinctive and memorable to travel on.

From Parkway, I continued by tram towards Village, although the journey along this section of the line remained fairly unremarkable compared to some of the older and more historic parts of the Metrolink network. Upon arriving at Village, I quickly discovered that services ahead were facing delays of around 25 minutes, which would have left me waiting around far longer than planned. Rather than staying at the tram stop, I decided to continue the journey by bus instead, boarding the 250 service towards Trafford Centre Plaza. In a way, this added a bit more variety to the trip, giving me the chance to experience another part of Trafford’s transport network while travelling through an area dominated by modern developments, retail parks, and wide roads rather than the old railway infrastructure that gives many other Manchester tram routes their unique character.

And finally, heading towards the end of the line, things didn’t quite go to plan as I had just missed a tram on arrival, leaving me with around a 15-minute wait for the next service. Standing around on the platform definitely felt longer than it probably was, mainly because of just how unbelievably hot the weather had become throughout the day. The heat across Greater Manchester was relentless, especially around the more open and modern parts of the Trafford area where there is very little shade from the sun. Thankfully, I had dressed appropriately for the conditions, which made the wait far more manageable, although after spending most of the day travelling around on trams and buses, the heat was certainly beginning to take its toll.

That’s it for this one! This journey took me across another fascinating part of the Manchester Metrolink network, from the modern Trafford lines to some of the newer extensions that feel completely different compared to the historic former railway routes elsewhere across Greater Manchester. Despite the delays, long waits, and incredibly hot weather throughout the day, it was still great to continue exploring more of the network as I slowly work towards my goal of eventually visiting all 99 tram stops on the system.

In the next blog, I’ll be heading over towards Eccles and MediaCityUK, two parts of the network that I’ve been looking forward to exploring, especially with their mix of street running, waterside scenery, and modern tram infrastructure. Alongside the Metrolink journey, I also managed to visit — or in some cases revisit — several stations along the line between Liverpool and Newton-le-Willows, adding even more variety to the day’s travels. There is still plenty more of the network left to discover, but with every trip the challenge gets one step closer to completion.