Zone 1 of the Manchester Metrolink light rail network is the heart of the system where all of the other lines converge. Its boundaries approximately mirror the city's Inner Ring Road. Within Zone 1, first opened in 1992 as the City Zone, trams largely run along semi-pedestrianised streets rather than on their own separate alignment.
The first City Zone route ran from Victoria station via Market Street to G-Mex (now Deansgate-Castlefield), and a branch to Piccadilly station opened later and created a three-way delta junction near Piccadilly Gardens. A second route between the South-West and North-Eastern parts of the network was built to ease congestion on the original line. Opened in 2017, the Second City Crossing (2CC) added one additional stop to the network at Exchange Square.
There are currently (as of 2024) 10 stops in Zone 1.[1] From north to south:
| Victoria | Bury Line | 6 April 1992 | Sits on site of former railway station platforms. Connected to the Manchester Arena. | ||
| Shudehill | 300m | 1CC | 31 March 2003 | Located near the Printworks in the Northern Quarter. | |
| Exchange Square | 300m | 2CC | 6 December 2015 | Only stop fully on the Second City Crossing (2CC).Serves the Manchester Arndale at its main entrance. | |
| Market Street | 200m | 1CC | 27 April 1992 | Located in the central retail district and near the Manchester Arndale. | |
| New Islington | East Manchester | 11 February 2013 | Only Zone 1 stop on the East Manchester Line. Serves Ancoats and New Islington. | ||
| Piccadilly Gardens | 200m | Piccadilly | 20 July 1992 | Located near the busiest bus interchange in Manchester. | |
| St Peter's Square | 1CC2CC | 27 April 1992 | Located near the Town Hall and Central Library. Serves 2CC trams at separate platforms from 1CC. | ||
| Piccadilly | Piccadilly | 20 July 1992 | Located in the railway station's undercroft. | ||
| Deansgate-Castlefield | 1CCAltrincham | 27 April 1992 | Serves Manchester Central and the Science and Industry Museum. | ||
| Cornbrook | Altrincham | 6 December 1999 | Major interchange stop. Also in Zone 2. |
Metrolink tickets allowing travel to a Zone 1 stop also allow for travel within Zone 1.
Passengers who travel on rail services from the Greater Manchester area into one of the four railway stations of the Manchester station group (Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria, and Deansgate) will be issued with a ticket stating the destination as Manchester Ctlz as opposed to Manchester Stns. This allows visitors to use Metrolink trams within Zone 1 for free on the presentation of a Manchester Ctlz rail ticket.[2] [3] The Freedom of the City scheme was introduced in 2005 by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive and retained as part of the new zonal ticketing system introduced in January 2019.[4] [5]
National visitors from outside Greater Manchester with Manchester Stns as the destination are not permitted free use of Metrolink, as it is a locally funded transport service by TfGM, and receives no national government subsidy.[6]
See also: History of Manchester Metrolink. Historically there were extensive tram lines in Manchester city centre as part of its first generation tram system; however, these were all abandoned by 1949.The Manchester Metrolink began operation in 1992. The Metrolink was designed to link Victoria and Piccadilly stations, as well as connect the converted National Rail lines, the Bury Line and the MSJ&AR Line, into a single network.[7]
The first city-centre route, consisted of a 1.9-mile (3.1 km) street-running route from Victoria, via Market Street to G-Mex (now known as) where it joined the line to Altrincham Interchange. This is now known as the First City Crossing (1CC).
Since 1992, a number of alterations to this route has taken place:
Also a 0.4-mile (0.7 km) branch to Piccadilly station, which diverges at a three-way junction (known as the 'delta junction') near Piccadilly Gardens. In 2013, the Piccadilly spur was extended to Droylsden and Ashton-under-Lyne. The new line was called the East Manchester Line. The first stop after Piccadilly on this new route,, was not initially included in the "City Zone" when it opened,[10] but the zone boundary was changed in 2014 to also include New Islington.[11]
When Metrolink fares changed from a point-to-point system to a zonal scheme in 2019, the "City Zone" was renamed as Zone 1.[12]
The Second City Crossing (also known as 2CC)[13] is a second Metrolink route across Manchester city centre, first proposed in 2011 as a means to improve capacity, flexibility and reliability as the rest of the system expanded.[13] [14] [15] [16] Funded by the Greater Manchester Transport Fund, its 0.8miles route begins at a rebuilt St Peter's Square tram stop, and runs along Princess Street, Cross Street and Corporation Street to rejoin the original Metrolink line by Victoria station.[17] The line has one stop at Exchange Square. Following the submission of a planning document under the Transport and Works Act 1992, and a public inquiry held throughout 2013,[18] [19] the Second City Crossing was granted approval on 8 October 2013 by the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin,[16] [20] and signed off on 28 October 2013 by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.[21]
Construction started in early 2014 on the new Exchange Square tram stop, and the first tracks of the line were laid in late November 2014.[13] [20] [21] The first part of the 2CC line opened on 6 December 2015, and only operated between Victoria and Exchange Square.[22] The first test tram to run the entire route ran on 1 December 2016 and the whole line opened for public service on 26 February 2017.[23] [24]