DESCRIPTION
Manchester tram opened in 1877 (initial horse tram) and it was electrified in 1903. The original tram network was closed in 1966.
The first routes (Altrincham/Bury route) of a modern LRT system (Metrolink) opened in 1992: the Altrincham-Bury route (north-south) is constituted by "Altrincham Line" (from Manchester G-Mex to Altrincham, running partly in viaduct and partly over an elder railway alignement), "Delta Junction" (new urban tram track in the city centre, running from G-Mex to Victoria and Piccadilly; this section connects the external segments - which runs over the elder railway alignement - to the city centre) and "Bury Line" (Victoria-Bury, again over former railway tracks). Metrolink was extended in 1999-2000 (Cornbrook-Broadway, Broadway-Eccles), 2010 (MediaCityUK branch; it serves BBC and exhibition/cultural centers), 2011 (Trafford Bar-St. Werburgh's Road), 2012 (Victoria-Oldham Mumps, by the renewal and reuse of the former Rochdale railway alignement; Oldham Mumps-Shaw & Crompton), 2013 (Piccadilly-Droylsden; Shaw & Crompton-Rochdale Railway Station; St Werburgh's Road-East Didsbury; Droylsden-Ashton under Lyne), 2014 (Freehold-Oldham Mumps-Derker; Rochdale Railway Station-Rochdale Town Centre; St Werburgh's Road-Manchester Airport) and 2017 (Exchange Square-St Peter's Square).
The current Metrolink network is articulated in Airport Line (on and off-street), Altrincham Line (over converted railway track), Bury Line (over a converted railway track), City Zone (on and off-street), East Manchester Line (on and off-street), Eccles Line (on and off-street), MediaCityUK spur (off-street), Oldham and Rochdale Line (over a converted railway track), South Manchester Line (over a converted railway bed) and Trafford Park Line.