Old Trafford Metrolink station

This article is about the present-day Old Trafford Metrolink station. For the former British Rail Old Trafford station, see Trafford Bar Metrolink station.

Old Trafford
Manchester Metrolink
A tram leaving Old Trafford; the Old Trafford Cricket Ground scoreboard can be seen behind the tram.
Location
Place	Old Trafford
Local authority	Trafford
Platforms	2
Fare zone information
Metrolink Zone	E
Operations
Original operator	MSJAR
Post-grouping company	LMS/LNER London Midland Region of British Railways
History
Opened	5 May 1857
Closed	24 December 1991
Conversion to Metrolink operation	15 June 1992
Former name	1862: Cricket Ground 1887: Cricket Ground (Old Trafford) 1910: Cricket and Football Grounds 1931: Warwick Road or Warwick Road (Old Trafford)
Altrincham Line to Piccadilly and Bury Deansgate-Castlefield Deansgate Cornbrook to Eccles Trafford Bar to East Didsbury and Manchester Airport Old Trafford Stretford Dane Road Sale Brooklands Timperley Navigation Road Altrincham
UK Trams portal

Old Trafford Metrolink station is a station on the Metrolink light rail network in Greater Manchester, England. It is located on Warwick Road and Elsinore Road and serves Firswood, Old Trafford and Stretford.

It is adjacent to Old Trafford Cricket Ground, the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club, and only a short walk from Old Trafford football ground, the home of Manchester United. As a result, Old Trafford Station regularly faces heavy usage from the crowds attending cricket and football matches and concerts. Crowd control operations often involve the use of turnstiles.

An average of 2,000 passenger journeys are made per day to or from Old Trafford stop, but this can rise to 9,500 on a match day. In order to manage the crowds more effectively, the station was rebuilt in 2009. The pedestrian underpass was closed and passengers instead cross the tram line to change platforms. The platforms themselves were rearranged into a staggered layout by moving the northbound platform (for trams into Manchester), and both platforms were doubled in length. A new match day gating system was installed and the station was redecorated with the new yellow and silver Metrolink corporate identity.^[1]

History

A station, situated just to the north of the present station, was opened by the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJAR)^[2] in May 1857. It was known as Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition,^[3] being built to serve the exhibition of that name,^[2] which was open between 5 May 1857 and 17 October 1857.^[4] The station closed in October 1857.^[3] It was adapted and reopened as Old Trafford Cricket Ground in 1862 for use every year thereafter until 1866,^[5] on match days only.^[6]

The station opened for special events, such as the Royal Agricultural Society Exhibition in 1869,^[7] and again between May and October 1887^[8] for the Royal Jubilee Exhibition in Stretford Royal Botanical Gardens, held to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria,^[9] during both of which the station was known as Exhibition;^[7][8] additional platforms were constructed for the latter.^[10] From 1887 until 1963 it operated as a four-platform station.^{[citation needed]} It was renamed Cricket Ground (Old Trafford) and continued to open on match days only; in 1910 it became Cricket and Football Grounds^[11] following the opening of Manchester United's ground on 19 February 1910.^[12]

Old Trafford station (then named Warwick Road) in 1988, prior to conversion to Metrolink

On 11 May 1931, following the electrification of the MSJAR, the station was renamed Warwick Road and was open daily.^[13] It was also referred to as Warwick Road (Old Trafford)^[14] on early tickets, timetables, etc.^{[citation needed]} Warwick Road closed as a British Rail station on 25 December 1991^[14] (the last trains having run on 24 December 1991) for conversion to light rail operation,^[15] and reopened as a Metrolink station on 15 June 1992, at which point it was renamed Old Trafford.^[14]

Services

Old Trafford is located on the Altrincham Line with trams towards Altrincham stopping every 6 minutes during the day, Mondays to Saturdays, every 12 minutes Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytime and every 15 minutes Sunday evenings. Trams also head towards Manchester and Bury, with the Monday to Saturday daytime service running every 12 minutes each to Manchester Piccadilly or Bury, while evening and Sundays journeys run to Bury via Manchester Piccadilly.^[16]

Service Pattern

• 10 tph to Altrincham
• 5 tph to Piccadilly
• 5 tph to Bury

Connecting bus routes

Old Trafford station is only served by one service, Stagecoach Manchester service 253, which runs weekdays mornings to Piccadilly Gardens via the universities.^[17]

Notes

1. ^ "Old Trafford Metrolink stop changes get green light". Transport Briefing. 2009-07-13. http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/news/story?id=6054. Retrieved 2009-07-13. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Dixon 1994, p. 27
3. ^ ^{a b} Butt 1995, p. 153
4. ^ Dixon 1994, pp. 27,31
5. ^ Butt 1995, p. 177
6. ^ Dixon 1994, p. 39
7. ^ ^{a b} Dixon 1994, p. 42
8. ^ ^{a b} Butt 1995, p. 93
9. ^ Dixon 1994, p. 53
10. ^ Dow 1962, p. 117
11. ^ Croughton, Kidner & Young 1982, p. 109
12. ^ Bartram, Steve (19 February 2010). "On This Day: 19 Feb 1910". Manutd.com - The Official Website. Manchester: Manchester United Ltd. http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={48C41513-A376-4D1F-981D-660FC5BB193E}&newsid=6646528. Retrieved 19 October 2010. 
13. ^ Dixon 1994, pp. 67,68
14. ^ ^{a b c} Butt 1995, p. 241
15. ^ Dixon 1994, p. 119
16. ^ "GMPTE.com - Tram Times". GMPTE. http://www.metrolink.co.uk/tramtimes/. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
17. ^ "GMPTE - Maps - Manchester South". GMPTE. http://www.gmpte.com/pdfmaps/network/2_manchester_south.pdf. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 

References

• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1 85260 508 1. R508. 
• Croughton, Godfrey; Kidner, R.W.; Young, Alan (1982). Private and Untimetabled Railway Stations. Salisbury: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0 85361 281 1. 
• Dixon, Frank (1994) [1973]. The Manchester South Junction & Altrincham Railway. The Oakwood Library of Railway History (2nd ed.). Headington: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0 85361 454 7. OL34. 
• Dow, George (1962). Great Central, Volume Two: Dominion of Watkin, 1864-1899. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0 7110 1469 8. 

External links

• Old Trafford Stop Information
• Old Trafford area map
• Link to Google street view location of Old Trafford Station, showing the crowd control turnstiles using on match days.

Preceding station		Manchester Metrolink		Following station
Stretford towards Altrincham		Altrincham - Bury Line		Trafford Bar towards Bury
		Altrincham - Piccadilly Line		Trafford Bar towards Piccadilly

Coordinates: 53°27′23″N 2°17′05″W / 53.45632°N 2.28477°W / 53.45632; -2.28477