Metrolink's Trafford Park £350m tramline opening date revealed

Metrolink's Trafford Park line will open on 22 March

A new £350m tramline connecting Trafford Centre with Manchester city centre will open on 22 March, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) said.

The new Metrolink 5.5km (3.4 mile) line, which will run from Pomona to Trafford Park via the Imperial War Museum, was approved in October 2016.

It will serve the Old Trafford stadiums and Europe's largest industrial estate, home to Kelloggs, Unilever and Adidas.

The Trafford Park line will open seven months earlier than expected.

The Trafford Park line will call at six new tram stops - Wharfside, Imperial War Museum, Village, Parkway, Barton Dock Road and the Trafford Centre

The new line will add six additional stops through Trafford Park bringing the total to 99.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said it was "a much-needed addition to the Metrolink network", adding it would "encourage more people to use public transport to journey around our city-region, and in doing so reduce congestion on our roads and improve the quality of our air".

Funding was secured by Greater Manchester Combined Authority for the new line as part of the Greater Manchester devolution deal, with a £20m contribution from Trafford Council.