Piccadilly Gardens Metrolink

An interchange for Metrolink. The light rail Trams what run on its huge network. You can get to all the stops from this station but you may have to change somewhere. Its mainly covered when its bad weather when your waiting for your tram.

Piccadilly Gardens Metrolink station was rebuilt in 2009, originally built in 1992, this station is used for Manchester’s metrolink and close to bus services, to get you to the likes of Manchester Universities and Hospitals, basically to places the metrolink doesn’t. It is like the Shudehill of Piccadily, a transport hub.
They is good facilities nearby for example coffee shops and banks, they is no lifts or ramps but it is because it is on street level, wheelchair access is still here.
Be prepared for the station to be so busy at peak times, you have to wait on the opposing platform.
Piccadily Gardens is on a good number of Metrolink lines, 4 in fact:
Blue: Etihad Stadium and Bury Direction
Yellow: Altrincham Direction
Pink: Ashton Under Lyne and Eccles via Media City direction
Brown: In Piccadily and Media City direction
This station deserves 3 stars and can be improved by
— Slightly wider and longer platforms to make it easier to queue without getting squashed on the opposite platform
— Perhaps some staff to make sure everything goes smoother
— Maybe being on more lines, I admit this is on quite a few lines but most of them tend to go in the same direction if you take a look at it, with many trains going in either Etihad Stadium (on way to Ashton) or Media City direction.
To summarize, good metrolink station on a few lines but can be improved by adding staff, crowd control and more directions.

What can I say. This is what public transport should be like all over Manchester. It’s easy to use, and very easy to connect to anywhere in Manchester!
Make sure to get your ticket before getting on, otherwise expect a big bloody fine!

I’ve always liked Piccadilly Gardens. So, you can get a few miscreants around there, but you also get casual restaurants like Rice and Barburrito, a bar like Kro (sometimes with sausage dogs as guests…
) and some thigh-​slappingly brilliant transport links. I like our trams, daft as they might look to habitants of other cities, and to start off my Metrolink love fest, I think it’s apt to begin with Piccadilly Gardens.
This Metrolink station makes so much sense. The thing you have to remember about tram stations is that rather like tube stations, they are functional. In our case they are small too, but refreshingly outdoors and built with shelters as opposed to being underground and stuffy feeling. Inclement weather might make this experience a little more miserable, but you can always duck into a shop until your tram arrives. Yep, they’re THAT close to what’s going on. So you might not have a coffee shop at the station, well, you’re likely to have one metres from it. Not bad, eh?
Another great thing about these stations is they’re so easy for first-​time users. There’s no excuse for boarding without a ticket, there’s a self-​service ticket machine at every stop. I’ve seen people get on and say, ‘I thought you could pay on board.’ Then why would there be a ticket machine? These aren’t trains, and the tram conductors take no prisoners. They will kindly suggest that you eject yourself from the vehicle at the next stop and purchase a valid ticket. You don’t want to argue with them. They’re literally too nice to argue with.
Trams can have you travelling all over Manchester, including the back and beyond, like Altrincham, Sale, Eccles, the Trafford Centre and Salford Quays. This is great for commuters who work in the city centre, and equally superb for those of us just exploring and getting to know the city. And they feel kind of funny too, like a novelty vehicle. You’ll not quite believe that you’re travelling on it, and the views are pretty great too. There’s a Facebook group dedicated to people who have ‘almost been a victim of Death By Tram at Piccadilly Gardens’, which is hilarious, because they all do seem to congregate here at once. Trams also killed off Don in Coronation Street many moons ago, so wipe that smile off your face, this is no laughing matter. I know I said it was hilarious, I’m allowed to. It’s a Mancunian’s privilege. So get travelling using our strange and lovely little transport system, it’s more enjoyable than you’d think. And the more you use it, the quicker they might build these Metrolinks to Chorlton and Didsbury. It would be super to have those nice and soonly.

Piccadilly Gardens acts as a busy interchange for buses and trams in and out of the city. You can pretty much get a tram or bus to anywhere from here. So if you’re in town and need to get out, Piccadilly Gardens will probably have a bus or tram going to somewhere at least vaguely near you.
With the high volume of traffic going through, things can get pretty hectic down there, so make sure you’re looking both ways when you’re crossing the street and finding which stop is yours. It seems as if buses and trams are coming from all directions!
If you’re getting a bus up from Fallowfield on an evening, chances are you’ll be sharing the bus with loads of pissed-​up students on their way to some club. When you finally arrive in Piccadilly Gardens, they’ll barge past you to get out of the bus and then they’ll literally run as fast as they can to the nearest doorway or corner to empty their bladder. Lovely.