People urged to plan ahead and allow more journey times ahead of bumper bank holiday weekend

Saturday (August 26) will be the busiest of the three days with the iconic Pride Parade taking place in the city centre and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds concert at Wythenshawe Park.

Meanwhile Manchester United host Nottingham Forest in their second home game of the season, with 75,000 fans expected at a sell-out Old Trafford.

Those who intend to take the bus or the train over the bank holiday weekend are encouraged to check with their operator before travelling due to planned strike action. A very limited service will operate on the rail network due to RMT Union strikes on the Saturday, while only a handful of First Manchester buses will run between Friday and Monday.

Industrial action by Stagecoach, which had been planned for the same period, has been called off.

TfGM are anticipating the busiest time on the transport network to be between 12pm and 2.30pm on Saturday, particularly around the St Peter’s Square, Deansgate and Old Trafford areas and again between 5pm and 7pm.

Members of the public are strongly advised not to drive into the city centre, where congestion is expected due to the large number of road closures and bus diversions, on the Inner Ring Road, and on roads from the M56 and M60 to key venues.

Travelling by Metrolink will be the best option to avoid busy highways and road closures in the city centre, with services significantly boosted on the Airport line for the Noel Gallagher gig.

However, steps have been taken to ensure there is still adequate capacity and a stable, resilient service for those going to enjoy the Pride Parade or watch Manchester United – as well as for the overall network.

Sean Dyball, TfGM head of customer experience, said: “It’s shaping up to be a fantastic bank holiday weekend in Greater Manchester and we want everyone to enjoy it to the full – whatever they’re doing.

“That’s why we’re urging people to plan ahead for their journeys and allow plenty of time to get to their destination, whether that’s the city centre, Wythenshawe Park, Old Trafford or somewhere else.

“While it’s good news that Stagecoach has called off its industrial action, it’s still really important people follow our advice to avoid disruption and congestion and make the most of their long weekend.”

To  help everyone’s weekend go as smoothly as possible, Transport for Greater Manchester, promoters, local authorities, and the emergency services have all been involved in the planning and delivery of the transport operation for the events.

Measures taken to reduce disruption include:

• Enhanced monitoring of the highways and transport network on event days from TfGM’s Control Centre and using intelligence to strengthen Metrolink and public transport provision.
• Collaborating with transport operators to provide a co-ordinated response to events and congestion.
• Deploying more customer service representatives on Metrolink to aid the Pride Parade in the crossing of tram tracks in the city centre.
• Updating live navigation devices in real time with road closures and incidents.
• Working with partners such as Waze to share localised travel advice over the disruption period.

Customers can stay up-to-date with the changing transport picture by following @OfficialTfGM and @MCRMetrolink on Twitter.

For comprehensive information on the events taking place, people can visit the dedicated information page, the Manchester Pride page, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds webpage, and Old Trafford travel advice webpage.