Around 8m more passengers are expected to use the Airport annually once the new Terminal 2 fully opens
A Manchester Airport tram seen in 2015, a couple of years after the line opened
Plans to build a new Metrolink stop and tram line for Manchester Airport are being seriously considered, the Local Democracy Reporting Service has learned.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is weighing up constructing a Metrolink station for Manchester Airport’s new £1.3bn Terminal 2 building. It would sit on a new ‘Western leg’ of the existing tram line.
“As for tram, there are proposals to extend the tram from its current terminus at Manchester Airport railway station to serve Terminal 2 directly,” TfGM’s latest strategy document released this week said. “With the completion of the Manchester Airport Transformation Programme in 2025, most flights will arrive and depart from this terminal.”
The LDRS now understands TfGM bosses are proposing services stop at the existing Manchester Airport rail and tram station before heading on to newly-constructed tracks, where the Terminal 2 halt would be built. From there, passengers would cross the M56, wind their way through Davenport Green, and connect up with the existing Airport Metrolink line at Roundthorn.
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said bosses are mulling options on how to deal with an expected 8m-strong surge in passenger numbers in the next five years.
They said: “Here at Manchester Airport, we are proud to connect the North to the world via our ever-growing network of more than 200 destinations with upwards of 50 airlines. With our brand new £1.3bn Terminal 2 almost fully open we have the high-quality infrastructure to go from serving 32m passengers this year, up to 40m by 2030 and beyond that in the years that follow.
“But as we continue to serve more passengers, and the growing number of airport staff, it’s important that the transport infrastructure that connects the airport to the local area and the wider region is convenient, fast, affordable and able to meet that demand. It will also help make sure that the benefits of Manchester Airport’s route network and the wealth that generates can be felt by more people.
“We are working closely with TfGM, the City Council, and the transport operators on these plans for rail, the Bee Network, coach services, and walking and cycling. When joined together and delivered, they could make a huge difference to people all over Greater Manchester and beyond.”
The measure is one of many mooted in the new draft of the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2050, which outlines TfGM’s overall plan to meet Mancs’ transport needs for the next 25 years. It wants to see a fundamental shift in travel habits, so half of all journeys in Greater Manchester are taken by car, down from 60 per cent now.
“This plan sets out what the vision and ambition that we have for the transport network and how that’s an enabler for everything we are looking to achieve in Greater Manchester,” Martin Lax from TfGM said on Thursday (November 27). “Central to it is the Bee Network integrating bus, tram, rail, and active travel to come.”