Metrolink problems: Mayor demands answers after tram chaos

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has demanded urgent talks after major disruption to the Metrolink system.

Tram services have now returned to normal after "extensive" damage" led to all lines being stopped in and out of the city centre on Monday afternoon.

Some people said they were stranded for more than an hour while others said they walked alongside tram tracks.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) apologised to passengers for the inconvenience caused.

It said engineers had fixed an overhead line issue at Deansgate and services on the Bury line had returned by Tuesday afternoon.

The head of Metrolink, Danny Vaughan, said an investigation into the cause of the incident was "under way" and apologised for the "big inconvenience" to passengers.

He accepted communications "could have been better" but said "plans are in place" to ensure it would not happen again.

He said overhead line issues were "difficult" to predict and time-consuming to repair but that he still had confidence in the reliability of the service which "was improving all the time".

However, Mr Burnham said on social media it was "not good enough".

He tweeted: "Called an urgent meeting this morning with @OfficialTfGM & @MCRMetrolink to get answers re disruption & service improvement plan."

Mr Vaughan appealed to "impatient" passengers not to disembark themselves and walk along tram lines again.

While "in event it was safe and no damage was done", he said it was dangerous to walk along the tracks when there are suspected issues with overhead lines and high voltage electricity.

Metrolink said it transported nearly 41 million passengers last year, a 10% increase on the previous 12 months.