Central Park tram stop

30px Central Park
Metrolink
Central Park Metrolink stop in 2012
Central Park Location of Central Park in Greater Manchester
Location
Place	Newton Heath
Local authority	Manchester
Coordinates
Platforms	2
Fare zone information
Present status	In operation
Operations
Original operator	Metrolink
History
Opened	13 June 2012
Oldham and Rochdale Line Rochdale Town Centre Rochdale Railway Station Newbold Kingsway Business Park Milnrow Newhey Shaw and Crompton Derker Oldham Mumps Oldham Central Oldham King Street Westwood Freehold South Chadderton Hollinwood Failsworth Newton Heath and Moston Central Park Monsall x20px to Queens Road Depot x20px to Bury Manchester Victoria  x20px to Exchange Square to Ashton-under-Lyne
UK Trams portal

Central Park is a tram stop on the Oldham and Rochdale Line (ORL) of Greater Manchester's light rail Metrolink system. It opened to passengers on 13 June 2012 as part of Phase 3a of Metrolink's expansion, and is located in the Newton Heath area of Manchester, England.

The station was constructed in 2005 but was unused until 2012. Originally estimated to become operational in 2011 and provide rail services between Rochdale and Manchester Victoria and beyond later that year, revised estimates including March 2012 as a new target have been periodically issued. The opening date was finally announced on 8 June 2012, opening 5 days later on the 13 June.

The station serves the Central Park area, an urban renewal development project in north-east Manchester which includes the new headquarters of Greater Manchester Police and the Sharp Project. The station forms part of The Gateway, a £36.5 million transport interchange which will include local bus services as well as the Metrolink tram stop.

Construction

Being built in April 2010, 2 years prior to opening.

The station building features a striking curved copper and glass canopy suspended by a cable-tensioned steel structure. It was designed by architects Aukett Fitzroy Robinson, whose work has included a number of projects for London Underground (including Clapham Common tube station, and the reconstruction of Farringdon and Blackfriars stations). It was completed in 2005 in readiness for the Metrolink extension through Oldham to Rochdale as part of Phase 3a of the Metrolink expansion project. However, due to funding problems and repeated project cancellations, the line extension remained unused for seven years. Although the station lies next to the Calder Valley railway line between Victoria and Rochdale (at the northern end of the old "Cheetham Hill Loop" line built by the L&YR in 1877 to avoid the notorious Miles Platting bank, which closed in 1998), there is no interchange with National Rail services. However, it is possible that railway platforms may be added in future.

Construction on the Metrolink line began in October 2009. It was originally projected that the station would open to trams from Manchester in November/December 2011 and a full service from Manchester to Rochdale to commence in spring 2012. The station finally opened on 13 June 2012.

A bridge across the Calder Valley Line at Thorps Bridge Junction (where the Oldham Loop line formerly diverged) was also built in 2005 to the north of the station - this forms the continuation of the Metrolink route.

Services

Services run mostly every 12 minutes on all routes.

Connecting bus routes

Central Park station is not served by any direct bus service but several services do stop nearby. First Greater Manchester/JPT services 88 and 89, which runs a circular route with buses running to Manchester Piccadilly Gardens or to Manchester Shudehill via White Moss, Higher Blackley and North Manchester General Hospital stop on Northampton Road, along with Stagecoach Manchester service 80, which runs westbound to Manchester and eastbound to Middleton via Moston.

On Oldham Road, First services 83, 180 and 184 provide frequent buses between Manchester and Oldham with the 83 continuing to Sholver and the 180/184 running to Saddleworth plus Huddersfield (184). First services 24, 181 and 182 also run from Manchester to Rochdale via Chadderton, Royton and Shaw and Crompton (181/182). Stagecoach service 72 runs from Manchester to Chadderton.

External links

• Metrolink stop information
• Central Park area map
• More photos of this station

Preceding station		15px Manchester Metrolink		Following station
Monsall towards Ashton-under-Lyne		Rochdale Town Centre – Ashton-under-Lyne Line		Newton Heath and Moston towards Rochdale Town Centre
Monsall towards Exchange Square		Rochdale Town Centre – Exchange Square Line Sundays and Bank Holidays only
		Shaw and Crompton – Exchange Square Line Monday to Saturday only		Newton Heath and Moston towards Shaw and Crompton

Manchester Lines
Legend
City Centre and North: Past, Present and Future  Manchester Metrolink Main Line services   to Rochdale to Oldham Moston Newton Heath Newton Heath and Moston to Bury Bowker Vale Crumpsall to Tameside Abraham Moss Clayton Bridge Woodlands Road Park Queens Road Central Park Monsall to Tameside Miles Platting Edge Lane Clayton Hall Oldham Road Velopark Manchester Victoria Holt Town Exchange to Salford Etihad Campus New Islington Ardwick Shudehill Ashburys High Street; Manchester Piccadilly Mayfield Market Street; Piccadilly Gardens to South Manchester Exchange Square Gorton Mosley Street Oxford Road St Peter's Square to Belle Vue Manchester Central ; Deansgate- Castlefield Deansgate Liverpool Road to Hyde Road to Tameside Cornbrook Cornbrook to Salford Pomona to Eccles Trafford Bar to Trafford to Trafford Firswood to Altrincham to Chorlton