Anxiety fills the faces of weary Metrolink commuters in Salford.
They’ve had a long day. They want to get home to their loved ones. They want to enjoy the last of the day’s spring sunshine.
But one final challenge is awaiting them: Getting on the tram at Exchange Quay.
“It’s common that I have to wait for another tram,” said UX designer Martino Bilello. “Sometimes I manage to get on but there’s absolutely no space.”
The 43-year-old commutes to his job from Chorlton. He usually leaves work before 5pm, and at 4:40pm on Wednesday (April 9), when the Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to passengers, the platform is already heaving.
Exchange Quay is on the MediaCityUK and Eccles Metrolink lines, and is sandwiched between the city centre and Salford Quays.
It means, come home time, when Exchange Quay passengers try to board a tram heading towards town or Ashton-under-Lyne, services can be ‘rammed’ with commuters making the same journey from previous stops like MediaCityUK, Harbour City, Anchorage, and Salford Quays.
Martino is not the only commuter who’s had to wait for another tram to come along. Thousands work in this part of Salford, with AJ Bell and the civil service nearby.
“It happens all the time,” said Katie, 23, who was trying to get to the city centre. She attempted to board the 5:30pm tram, but couldn’t get on.
“It probably happens once a week, I only come in three days a week.
“It’s annoying when there’s no double tram, at 5:15pm there’s no double tram. I would say it’s getting worse, over the last three weeks it’s definitely got busier.”
When Katie does get on board, she said ‘it’s really busy inside; there’s never any seats’. Oliver Zuntz, who commutes to Glossop by either tram park and ride or tram and train, said the same.
“It was either last week or the week before the first tram I could not get on,” explained the 40-year-old.
“It was like a Japanese train where they push you on. I got on the one after and it was still packed.
“It’s fairly common to be a squeeze, but after Cornbrook, it always gets quieter.”
However, some regulars said the problem isn’t too big. Monica, 45, heads to Victoria railway station every day from Exchange Quay.
She said: “It depends on how much you’re in a rush. I am normally not, so waiting 15 minutes is not a big issue for me.
“But when it’s 20 minutes and the tram is packed, it’s not that great. Then a 15 minute journey becomes 45 minutes.”
Sam Mills, a benefits administrator, heading to Newton Heath five days a week, was another who couldn’t board the tram. It was the first time he struggled.
“I’ve always managed to get on one, but it’s absolutely rammed,” he said. “It’s not very regular I can’t get on.”
During the LDRS’ stint at the stop, it appeared passengers only failed to get onboard one service, the 5:30pm. But according to Tracy Mealing, this is ‘fairly quiet’.
“This week is fairly quiet with it being the Easter holidays,” she explained. Normally it’s nine out of 10 times [people are left on the platform], especially when they only put a single tram on.
“It’s two of the busiest business areas in Manchester [with MediaCityUK]. It’s crazy.
“Occasionally, I’ve had to wait for two, but I finish at 4pm. For some people who finish after me then I imagine they would struggle.”
Tracy’s complaint, that too few trams are doubles, is echoed by Mark Poole, who emerged from his finance job shortly after 5pm.
“The timing is still every 12 minutes, but a lot of them are single,” he sighed, studying the digital Metrolink display.
“You’ve got 3,000 people working in these buildings. I’ve had to wait for the next one [in the past]. It gets to the point where you sack it off and just get an Uber.”
Transport for Greater Manchester said repairs elsewhere on the network had restricted its ability to put more trams on for Exchange Quay at peak times recently.
Ian Davies, Metrolink network director, said: “Record numbers travelled on Metrolink last year with 45.6 million journeys being made on the network. Ensuring a safe and reliable service for passengers is paramount, and that is why we’re investing £147m to maintain, upgrade and improve the network up to 2027.
“The current improvement works in the city centre have required changes to the normal timetable and we recognise it is having an impact on passengers on the Eccles line. We are sorry about that and are working with our operator to provide more space on the line by running more double trams.
“These works are due to complete in a couple of weeks, at which point passengers will once again benefit from a six-minute service and fast, frequent connections to help them get to where they need to go.”
