Hi everyone, there’s a few important changes to transport ahead of the forthcoming Liverpool and Arsenal games that we want you to be aware of.
Liverpool – 12.45pm on Saturday 4 April.
Extensive Metrolink works are taking place over the Easter weekend at Deansgate-Castlefield and Trafford Bar.
- No trams will operate on the Eccles, Trafford Centre and Altrincham lines.
- Services operating on the East Didsbury/Manchester Airport lines will terminate at Firswood.
- Services operating on the Rochdale line will terminate at Exchange Square.
- Trams will be operating to the ground from Piccadilly Station and Ashton as normal.
This will obviously have a massive impact on fans travelling to the match from the south of the city, so we want to make sure everyone is aware of the changes and plans ahead. Details of these works are now on our website:
tfgm.com/tram-improvement-works/easter-bank-holiday-tram-works
We will have replacement bus services operating along the affected routes – such as Chorlton to Piccadilly/Altrincham to Piccadilly etc. However, fans along the affected routes will probably find it easier to take the match day bus direct to the ground rather than use these. For example, rather than fans travelling from Didsbury/Withington to Chorlton, to then board a replacement bus, and then a tram from Piccadilly to the ground, it would make more sense to use the direct match day bus.
To help mitigate the extra demand that we expect to see for this game,
we are adding additional buses on the 5 and 10 routes – so there will be two departures.
For fans new to the service, all the details about the route and pricing are on our website:
tfgm.com/man-city/bus-network
Arsenal – 4.30pm on Sunday 19 April.
On Sunday 19 April, the Manchester Marathon takes place – starting at Old Trafford, going into the city and then back out to Altrincham before going north through Chorlton and finishing on Oxford Road.
Extensive road closure will be in place, some of which will affect the match day buses.
The 5, 9, 9X, 10, 16 and 16H will need to be re-routed due to these closures.
We are currently in the process of working through these diversions and will publish the revised routes and timetables shortly.
We are also conscious that the road closures will likely result in more congestion, so we will be factoring in some additional time which may mean your bus departs earlier than usual. So please check the timetables closely!
Even more people are running in the marathon this year compared to previous years, so tram services will be extremely busy. We expect to see significant queues at Altrincham and Sale tram stops from around 12-3pm when runners will be passing through the area and spectators then make their way to the city centre to meet loved ones at the finish line. As a result, journeys could take more than half an hour longer and we strongly recommend you to travel much earlier than normal to avoid any disappointment – especially with it being such an important fixture.
Anyone travelling from Altrincham or Sale may want to consider using Match Day Bus 10 rather than the tram for this game.
tfgm.com