Manchester trams 'damaging city's reputation'

Transport for Greater Manchester apologised for the disruption and said it was investigating the incidents

Manchester's tram network is "unreliable" and is "damaging the city's reputation and economy", a local MP has said.

Graham Stringer, MP for Broughton and Blackley, said failures on the Metrolink network services over the past week are "unacceptable".

Four trams broke down on the network causing many delays for travellers.

Transport for Greater Manchester apologised for the disruption and said it was investigating the incidents.

Labour MP Mr Stringer said: "It is bad for Manchester's image.

"It is absolutely vital that buses and trams turn up to get people to work.

"Transport for Manchester and the tramline operators have to get their act together and ensure that when people get on a tram it gets to the destination that it says on the front.

"This is happening far too often for it to be considered an extraordinary circumstance."

The Greater Manchester Metrolink service includes 32 T68 trams, many which are more than 20 years old, and 15 newer M5000 trams.

Transport for Greater Manchester said: "We fully appreciate that any disruption to services can be frustrating and we know that it is felt particularly keenly at the busiest times.

"We apologise sincerely to anyone who has been affected in recent days.

"We investigate every failure to find out what has happened, why, and how we can prevent it from happening again."