Metrolink is totally shit. It was built on the cheap resulting in high level trams and the roughest ride known to any human being alive that hasn't been blasted into space. The recent 2007 track replacements on the Bury and Altrincham lines were not complete ones and are still whiplash enducing in most places at best. This isn't a third world country but Metrolink seems to think it is and like to offer a taste of it, which is something I have to admit, they do extremely well. So I am not without compliment for what they do well.
Investment in new signalling and information boards should have been implemented before any fucking moron at TfGM was even allowed to bastardise more heavy rail or make any expansions to the network at all. If something doesn't work and is crap, why in the name of Christ would anyone want to start expanding it? Well TfGM decided to do it anyway at the cost of millions and making more people miserable and late on a daily basis, again something they do in spades.
So despite every conceivable ounce of common sense imaginable, TfGM plow on expanding the dead dog that is Metrolink. So it didn't work to begin with and now, on shite track and antiquated signaling systems that were new when Noah was leading the animals in two by two, we have something that has gone from being shit to biblically shit. I don't mean this in a small way but a very big way. Bottlenecks, more delays than they are able to tweet about, we are faced with millions of pounds tied up in what is literally useless in its current form. TfGM's answer to delays and service disruptions? Use a fucking bus. Well I think unless it was done properly in the first place then this should give you a clue to how bad it is.
The fact that the only new rails put down for the opening of the bastard thing in the first place had to be ripped up and replaced in around a year should tell TfGM that they didn't know what the fuck they were doing. Who the hell got that completely wrong? The city centre was disrupted while the rails were put down and, after around 12 months, it was disrupted once more to do it properly. Well done for that, champion more congestion and delays, things that the system was supposed to reduce.
Now after all of the above it would seem that I don't have a good word to say about Metrolink. In its current form and from level of service delivery to customers that is sadly true. The mistakes made are so deep routed that I cannot believe that it had been allowed to spread like a disease. In principle it seemed a great idea to link Piccadilly and Victoria and the initial proposals did in fact seem promising.
As I have stated the decision to use high level trams to accommodate the heavy rail sections of the initial route platforms was cheaper, but has probably been cost inhibitive at this point with all the extensions, rougher riding and track replacements required, before you even look at the impact of having to do this work for all the extensions. Most tram networks are low level for a reason, because it works, and is cheaper for all new investment in platforms, track and provides a lower centre of gravity for comfort on vehicles with closer bogies that trams have. That swaying and rocking whiplash experience we all get on faster sections of off road track are because trams are better built as low level versions. Sorry I realised that faster and Metrolink were used in the same sentence and they should never be related.
So as a cheaper alternative we have high level trams. Even if we accept this, the track was to all intents and purposes on the routes they used, knackered to begin with. The rough ride was also hard on the initial tram units and got steadily worse over time causing more misery. Despite TfGM deciding to do something about this when forced to on the Bury to Altrincham sections, it was again a cheap mend and make do solution. They put people that were forced to go from a heavy rail experience to Metrolink through even more misery as they closed these lines to replace the track and sleepers. Again this was a decidedly cheap alternative to doing a proper job. Only sections that were so bad that it was dangerous were replaced, and while they could have taken this opportunity whilst they were pissing everyone off to upgrade the signalling systems, you guessed it they didn’t. This is something they are now doing with additional weekend closures, bus replacements and higher costs. Not to mention that the new M5000 trams were not designed with the old signalling in mind and had to be converted at even more cost!
Passenger information has been something that in a well run frequency based system should almost be a nice to have. What I mean is if you know it is a 6 or 12 minute service, then you know that even in he worst case that is the longest you will have to wait. Metrolink had installed various versions of screens over the years and have never got it right.
As I said I don't feel this is really needed if the system works, but in the case of Metrolink it is vital. These systems should have been tried, tested and working with cries of brilliance before a single new meter of track was put down. Again this wasn't the case. We now have another version of screens, but without a new signalling system can't be used across the network with any degree of accuracy. It may as well have dates or hours instead of minutes for all the faith you have in it right now due to the crystal ball timings they display. We may as well call the fat turd that is Russell Grant to give is a prediction for all the use they are.
So up to this point we have a crap ride because of cost, shite information because of cost, unreliability because of cost, so the sensible thing surely would be to work on these fundamental flaws. Let's get it running well and to a standard where all the lessons have been learned before moving on. Surely that would be the most sensible course of action that even the most retarded individual would agree with. Well welcome to the logic of TfGM because they didn't and couldn't stop.
So moving on to present day we have an expanded and flawed system that in recent weeks has failed on one form or another on a daily basis. Ok, well in a world of mobile phones, Facebook, Twitter, Apps surely TfGM can get this bit right? Well no, this bit is crap as well.
The mis-communication again is deep routed, confusing and in most cases appalling. I sent an email to Metrolink about the bottleneck between St. Peter's Square and Cornbrook whilst sitting on a tram in a bottleneck between St. Peter's Square and Cornbrook. I used the link on the website to ask the question as to how a second city crossing would address this fundamental flaw caused by the extinctions. I got an automated reply from "Future Metrolink" stating I would get a reply in 15 working days, almost the same amount of time the average user of the network wastes a month. The deadline passed so I called the number on the automated email that stated I SHOULD call in the unlikely event of not getting an answer. I was greeted with some bint asking a million questions saying I was calling the wrong place, who did I email and what did I send? What is the point of sending in an email and having to repeat myself over the phone? I will let TfGM answer that one shall I. Well this is where it gets even more confusing because when you do ask this question they say the email address I used goes to the operator, more on this later.
So things have become so bad that TfGM have had to go on a charm offensive this last week due to Metrolink pissing so many people off. Great, finally you can get a reply when you have been left to rot on a platform despite the signs saying only a 12 minute service and you have been at a stop for 30!
Well again this doesn't really work. Firstly they do Dolly Parton hours (9-5) so by the time you are late for your 9am start time in work they are trawling through a million twitter messages about why you can't get to work on time because an "old tram" had blown up, failed or fallen apart on some part of the system. At least this week they have discovered how to reply on Twitter so all is not lost.
Well this again isn't entirely true. If you have a question that is remotely challenging the TfGM Twitter team ask you to to email customerservices@metrolink.co.uk which when I challenged them why I hadn't had a timely response to emails sent to this address in the past said this was the operators email address and they would "feed this back". So you complain about a lack of reply and they ask you to email the people you sent the email to? Wonderful TfGM logic in action, let's be seen to do something but fuck it right up.
So TfGM update you in Dolly Parton hours, blame old trams that should have been replaced before the reliability was shite and was predictable, to email the operator with specific questions about service. Again a process from my own experience doesn't fucking work. Surely the operator should be communicating delays, disruptions and answering questions if TfGM can't or doesn't want to. Well again in a logical world this would be the case but at least users are being given replies on Twitter fobbing them off. One small step and all that.
My final comments are either fix it or realise it doesn't work and do the right thing and scrap it putting heavy rail back in. Nothing is ever perfect but Metrolink is so full of poor management, poor decisions, shite communication that it shouldn't be allowed to have any more money spent on extensions until it proves it can cope with things that they have in the most part inflicted upon themselves.
