Manchester Metrolink

In 2008 MPT, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) appointed MPT (a joint venture of VolkerRail and Laing O'Rourke in consortium with Thales), to a design, construct and maintenance contract to deliver the network expansion of Manchester Metrolink, comprising lines to media City, South Manchester, East Manchester and Oldham Rochdale as well as a new depot facility at Trafford Bar.

The scope of the works was split. VolkerRail and Laing O'Rourke were responsible for the design, construction and maintenance of the civil engineering and track, and Thales was responsible for the tram operating systems

Whilst delivering this initial phase, MPT worked closely with TfGM to define a scope for future lines. A second phase of extensions was awarded early in 2010 to extend the South Manchester line to East Didsbury and the East Manchester line to Ashton, together with an increase in capacity to the Trafford Depot. Further extensions were awarded later in 2010 ,comprising a new line to Manchester Airport and town centre routes for Rochdale and Oldham.

Second City Crossing

In 2014, the contract for the Second City Crossing was awarded. MPT designed and constructed the route through the busy streets of Manchester city centre. The Second City Crossing sits within the heart of Manchester’s retail and commercial districts and provides an additional link between the existing St Peter’s Square tram stop and the recently upgraded Victoria tram stop, connecting to heavy rail lines.

Trafford Park Line

The last major upgrade to the network was Manchester's Trafford Park Line. 

This was the final extension to the network, with MPT constructing a new 5.5km route with six tram stops, offering sustainable transport links to some of Greater Manchester’s busiest visitor destinations. 

Construction work began in late 2016 and services were launch in 2020, seeing the line run through Trafford Park, Europe’s largest trading estate and home to more than 1,400 businesses employing over 33,000 people.

Continued maintenance

Today, we continue to provide maintenance and renewals work across the network to ensure a strong and robust network for Manchester.

Project statistics

Throughout the project, MPT installed over 60km of new track and 57 new stops across the whole network, as well as:

• Over 164,500 cubic metres of concrete laid
• Over 150,000 drawings produced in 19 different design disciplines
• Over 14,000 welds
• Over 2,800 overhead line poles installed
• More than 2,300 staff completing over 2 million man hours without a reportable incident

Awards

• British Construction Industry Awards: Major Civil Engineering Project of the Year over £50m 2015
• National Rail Awards: Civil Engineering Achievement of the Year 2015
• Chartered Institute of Highways & Transport: North West Transportation Project of the Year 2011 / Major Project Award 2015
• Light Rail Awards: Supplier of the Year 2011 / Tramways & Urban Transit Project of the Year Winner 2011
  Project of the Year 2012 / UK Project of the Year 2013 / Supplier of the Year over £10m 2013 / Project of the Year over £50m 2015 / Project of the Year over £50m 2016   
• British Precast Association: 2012 Project Award
• Four RoSPA (Health & Safety) awards
• Seven Considerate Constructors Award