Transport for Greater Manchester has confirmed that more frequent trams are set to be reintroduced on Metrolink's busiest lines from next week.

From Tuesday (31 August), trams will run every six minutes on the Bury and Altrincham lines at peak times (7am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday), as part of a phased return to more frequent services on the network. 

This will be followed by the reintroduction of a six-minute service between East Didsbury and Shaw and Crompton on 6 September.

TfGM say that peak-time services between MediaCityUK and Etihad Campus will be reintroduced 'in the coming weeks subject to staff availability'. 

A temporary 12-minute service was introduced across the network on 6 August following a significant increase in coronavirus-related staff absences.

The return to more frequent services follows the launch of the ‘It’s Time’ campaign, which has been introduced to support the safe reopening of the region ahead of the return to education and workplaces. 

TfGM's Head of Metrolink, Danny Vaughan, said: “The temporary service change was needed because of very high levels of covid-related staff absences – and I’d like to thank everyone for their understanding and for bearing with us during this extremely challenging period.

“While staff absences remain high, it is an improving picture, and we are now gearing up to reintroduce more frequent services across the network.

“This will be done in a phased approach ahead of the new school year, as more workplaces welcome staff back and we all start to get back to doing the things we love with family and friends.

“We will continue to use all available trams to target the areas where demand is highest, and I’d encourage people to still check before they travel and plan their journeys in advance.”