Points failure at Piccadilly (28 Sep 2026)

On 28 September 2026 at around 15:34 BST, a points failure was announced to have occurred at Piccadilly tram stop. This incident happened alongside improvement works happening in Piccadilly Gardens between 27 September and 2 October 2026.

Multiple messages on the TfGM (Bee Network) website and across the Bee Network app read: “Due to a points failure at Piccadilly there are no services operating on the Ashton line between Piccadilly and Clayton Hall” “There are no services operating between Piccadilly and Clayton Hall. Ticket acceptance on bus: 7, 53, 171, 172, 216, 219, 220, 221, 230, 231. We apologise for any incovenience caused”

I do not know much about how this incident unfolded initially, as I arrived around an hour after the incident had been announced. I saw the aftermath of how the service recovered, however.

Tram 3072 stabled at Sheffield Street displaying “Tram on Test", 28 September 2026.

I walked over to Sheffield Street sidings initially and saw two single trams stabled there: 3132 displaying Not in Service, and 3072 displaying Tram on Test.

These trams had been stabled for one of two reasons. They could have been spare trams to be used on the Ashton Line in case of breakdown, as trams could not currently access the depots at Queens Road and Old Trafford, and Sheffield Street sidings were currently not being used due to service changes. They also could have been stabled there because of the service disruption. Usually, when there is a minor disruption to services, some trams are temporarily taken out of service to be re-entered after disruption is over. I did not stay at Sheffield Street long enough to see if my second hypothesis was right, though.

Tram 3132 (foreground) and 3072 behind it stabled at Sheffield Street, 28 September 2026.

The first trams were allowed through Piccadilly again at 16:56 BST. Tram 3080 towards Ashton was first, and tram 3141 to Piccadilly travelled in the opposite direction shortly after past Sheffield Street sidings.

I went into Piccadilly’s undercroft over to Platform B (as it was the only platform open at the time due to the improvement works) at around 17:00.

Tram 3143 out of service with the lights off with another in-service tram ahead of it at Piccadilly Platform B, 28 September 2026.

First, I noticed that tram 3143 was outstabled at the far end of Platform B (as seen in the picture above) whilst single trams were still running in-service to Ashton using the other half of the platform.

A driver entered 3143 at 17:11 but it didn’t actually begin service again until 17:24, indicating that the reason it was out of service had to do with the points failure earlier. Multiple people had noticed the tram and thought it was in service, and so pressed the buttons to open the door (the buttons were flashing on all of them). It was at this point I noticed that they were still running a peak service to Etihad Campus even during these service disruptions, as 3143 become an Etihad Campus service.

Tram 3143 at Piccadilly heading to Etihad Campus, 28 September 2026.

The points failure had probably occurred not at Sheffield Street but near the track crossing at Piccadilly inside the undercroft.