bluenova said:
Shaelumstash said:
I was looking forward to the Met to get running to the stadium, but after speaking with some rag mates I'm now not that arsed.
Apparently it's an absolute nightmare trying to get on a tram from the swamp back in to town after the game. They've said the queues are that big that it's quicker to walk back in to town.
It's good that we've got City Square to wait in while the queues die down, but I think the major problem is that the trams are limited to 2 carriages so it's always going to take an absolute age to get tens of thousands of people away from the stadium.
There is a turn back siding between the stadium and velopark stops to stack extra trams for use after the game.
Not being arsed too much is probably best - it's not going to make a huge difference to many.
Old Trafford is twice as long to walk from Piccadilly so it's probably worth waiting for more people. At City, getting out of the car parks can take an age, but plenty still do that instead of walking. The tram won't be for tens of thousands - it'll be another option for a few thousand.
I just think it's frustrating that it could have been designed and managed so much better. As a poster said earlier about the system at the German club, if Metrolink had had the foresight to think about the extra capacity needed on match days it would be better for everyone.
For example if they'd designed the track so that the Etihad stop was a spur that could be avoided by the main line on a match day to not disrupt regular sevice, and allow for dozens more trams to be put on as match day specials direct from the stadium to Piccadilly, everyone's a winner.
It might cost a few more thousand to lay the extra track, but if you could increase the match day capacity to thousands more per game they would make they money back in no time.
