Tram improvement works with no service disruptions

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Planned improvement work is taking place across the tram network.

Some of these works will happen outside of tram service hours.

While they won’t affect tram services, they may cause temporary or intermittent noise, light, dust, or highway disruption.

Find out more about planned works and what they mean for your journey below. Jump to:

Works starting in January

Works starting in January

Metrolink engineering works are planned to take place at various sites between Eccles and Cornbrook from Sunday 25 January to Friday 8 May 2026.

The work will be carried out, out of hours during night-time shifts, and will not affect Metrolink services.

Why the works are taking place:

The essential works will involve replacing overhead line cables along the Eccles line, ensuring an increase in resilience to the overhead lines equipment, mitigate operational risks and reduce the frequency of emergency intervention works.

Details of the works:

The works will commences on the Sunday 25 January, with all the works due to finish on Friday 8 May 2026. To minimise the overall duration of the impact of the works, out of hours working will be required during these times with the work being carried out during night-time shifts.

Please note, no works will take place on Friday or Saturday night. From Sunday night to Thursday night, the works will take place between midnight and 4.30am.

During the hours of work, there will be localised traffic management plans in place at each site location. Due to the relatively short areas of track being worked on at a time, the road impact is likely to be minimal and may include temporary traffic lights where needed. There are no significant road closures or diversions planned.

This is a transient worksite so the team will move throughout the week working along the line from stop to stop. There is potential for the works to create noise at times. However, there will be no prolonged work at one site for longer than a week.

Measures are planned to be in place on the vehicle to reduce noise and light levels and minimise disturbance where possible.

Schedule of the works:

Eccles to Ladywell (26/01 - 30/01)
Ladywell to Stott Lane (02/02 - 06/02)
Stott Lane to Weaste Road (09/02 - 20/02)
Weaste to Langworthy (23/02 - 06/03)
Langworthy to Broadway (09/03 - 13/03)
Broadway to Anchorage (16/03 - 24/03)
Anchorage to Salford Quays (25/03 - 03/04)
Salford Quays to Exchange Quay (06/04 - 10/04)
Exchange Quay - Pomona (13/04 - 17/04)
Pomona - Cornbrook (20/04 - 28/04)
Trafford Depot - Cornbrook (29/04 - 01/05)
Contigency period - (04/05 - 08/05)

Whitefield Metrolink Tunnel: Landscaping and Reinstatement Works – Monday 19 January to Friday 27 March 2026

Planned essential repair work to Whitefield Metrolink Tunnel was completed in October 2025. The essential repair work was necessary after a previous inspection found a fracture in an iron support beam within the roof of the 19th century tunnel. New precast concrete roof beams and supports were put in place, effectively renewing the whole structure, so that tram services can continue to safely pass through the tunnel. The final phase of the work is now approaching which will involve filling the site excavation, landscaping, and reinstatement of street furniture. Mobilisation for this work is currently scheduled to begin on 19 January 2026, and the work is currently anticipated to be complete by the end of March 2026, subject to ground and weather conditions.

Highways Impacts

To allow the landscaping and reinstatement work to take place safely, there will be a temporary highways impact on sections of Bury New Road, Church Lane, and Bank Street in Whitefield. This is planned to be phased as follows:

19 January – 20 February 2026

20 February – 27 March 2026

• Closure of a section of lane 1 of Bury New Road northbound after the junction with Church Lane
• Closure of left-turn from Church Lane onto Bury New Road
• For those turning left from Church Lane onto Bury New Road a signed diversion is planned to be in place
• The bottom of Bank Street at the junction with Church Lane is planned to be re-opened during this period
To help mitigate the impact on the highways, safe pedestrian access to all nearby premises will be maintained and signed diversions will be in place for highways users and pedestrians.

Site Working Patterns:

Site work at Whitefield Tunnel during the period 19 January until the end of March 2026 is planned to be during normal working hours. Aspects of the works have the potential to create noise at times. To help mitigate the noise impact, noise reduction measures such as acoustic blankets and enclosures will be deployed, and contractors will be instructed to keep site noise to an absolute minimum as far as practicable.

Metrolink Service Impacts:

We do not currently anticipate any Metrolink service impact from these landscaping and reinstatement works. The most up to date information on Metrolink engineering works and their impact on service patterns can always be found at: https://tfgm.com/tram-improvement-works