Transport for Greater Manchester in the UK has announced that the new £350m Trafford Park Line will open on 22 March.
Connecting Trafford Centre with Manchester City Centre, the new 5.5km Metrolink line will stop at key destinations such as Old Trafford Stadium and Imperial War Museum North.
It will also run through Europe’s largest industrial estate, which is home to businesses such as Kellogg’s, Unilever, Missguided, L’Oreal and Adidas.
The project has been delivered seven months earlier than originally planned.
Trafford Council has contributed £20m towards the construction of the project.
The funding for the new line was secured by Greater Manchester Combined Authority as part of the Greater Manchester devolution deal.
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By GlobalDataThe new line will add six additional stops through Trafford Park, bringing the total to 99.
Transport for Greater Manchester chief executive Eamonn Boylan said: “A project of this size and scale is a huge undertaking and we are pleased with how smoothly it’s come together, meaning we’re opening the line much sooner than we anticipated.
“We’re very pleased to be welcoming passengers on board and opening up the Trafford Park area for workers, shoppers and visitors. I have no doubt it’ll make a huge difference to the area, particularly to the many local businesses.”
The project has been completed by MPT, a joint venture of VolkerRail, Laing O’Rourke and Thales.
The new Trafford Park Line will be operated by KeolisAmey Metrolink.
In the last decade, MPT has been expanding the Metrolink system to become the UK’s largest tram network, running a total of 96km and 93 stops.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: “It’s great that the Trafford Park line will open for business on Sunday 22 March. It is a much-needed addition to the Metrolink network and will encourage more people to use public transport to journey around our city-region, and in doing so reduce congestion on our roads and improve the quality of our air.”