Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network consists of six lines which radiate from Manchester city centre and terminate at Altrincham, Bury, Didsbury, Droylsden, Eccles, and Rochdale. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and operated and maintained under contract by RATP Group. Also referred to as Manchester Metrolink, over 21 million passenger journeys were made on the system in 2011. A light rail system for Greater Manchester was born of Greater Manchester County Council's obligations to provide "an integrated and efficient system of public transport" under its structure plan and the Transport Act 1968. Greater Manchester's public transport network suffered from poor north – south connections, exacerbated by the location of Manchester's main railway stations, Piccadilly and Victoria, which were unconnected and lay at opposing edges of central Manchester. Light rail was proposed in 1982 as the best and most economical public transport solution for Manchester city centre and the surrounding Greater Manchester metropolitan area, and gathered support throughout the 1980s as an appropriate integrated commuter service. Government approval was granted in 1988 and the network began operating services between Bury Interchange and Victoria on 6 April 1992. Serving 69 stops located within seven of the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester, Metrolink uses a fleet of light rail vehicles — popularly known as trams — composed of Ansaldo Firema T-68/T-68As and Bombardier Flexity Swift M5000s. The system's 45.6 miles (73.4 km) of standard gauge track spans a mix of designated light railway (segregated from other traffic) and on-street tramway. Expansion of Metrolink has been a key strategy of transport planners in Greater Manchester, who have overseen its development in successive projects which, upon completion of Phase 3b in 2016, will make Metrolink the largest light rail network in the United Kingdom, with 59 miles (95 km) of track and 92 stops, handling an estimated 45 million passenger journeys a year. TfGM have endorsed further expansion with proposals for two new lines to Stockport and Port Salford, and an additional line across Manchester city centre.
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