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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Simon Coyle

How to get to Parklife 2023 using Metrolink and which tram to use

Tens of thousands of people will be heading to Heaton Park this weekend to make their way to the Parklife Festival.

The annual music event is taking place at the Manchester park on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 June. The event will see an esteemed line-up featuring Carl Cox, Becky Hill, Fred Again…, Wu-Tang Clan & Nas, The 1975 and Aitch.

On Saturday, gates to the festival site open at 11am and on Sunday they'll open at 12pm. The last entry into Heaton Park will be at 5pm - so make sure to arrive in plenty of time.

READ MORE: Parklife 2023 entry times, lineup, venue, stages and everything else you need to know

Heaton Park is around three miles away from the city centre and people heading there have a few options - from shuttle bus to walking and getting the tram to getting dropped off.

Tram drivers had initially voted to take part in strike action over the two days - meaning no trams would have been running.

However on Wednesday, it was announced this industrial action had been called off. Here is everything you need to know if you were thinking about getting the tram to Parklife.

Getting to Parklife and back on the tram

Transport for Greater Manchester says a normal tram service will operate to Parklife over the course of the two days.

There will be a six-minute frequency to Parklife from Manchester city centre..

For entry to the event please use the Heaton Park stop, located close to the West Gate entrance. This stop is on the Bury line - meaning you want to board a tram with the destination of Bury.

These trams operate from Altrincham and Piccadilly. They can be boarded in the city centre at Cornbrook, Deansgate-Castlfield, St Peter's Square, Piccadilly Station, Piccadilly Gardens, Market Street, Shudehill and Vicotria Station. However a number of these stops will be closed at certain times over the weekend - as detailed below.

Heaton Park is five stops after Victoria.

After Parklife has finished in the evening, people are asked to use the Bowker Vale stop which is located near the East Gate exit. For safety reasons, Heaton Park will be closed post-event.

Metrolink services will continue to operate until the venue is cleared.

Stop closures

Some stops will be closed at certain times over the weekend for safety reasons:

Saturday 10 June

The following stops will be closed during the day:

  • Market Street and Shudehill - Closed all Saturday
  • Heaton Park – from 9pm until the end of service
  • Piccadilly Gardens – between 3pm and approximately 5pm
  • Exchange Square – between 12pm and approximately 5pm

Sunday 11 June

The following stops will be closed during the day:

  • Heaton Park – From 9pm until end of service
  • Exchange Square – between 12pm and approximately 5pm
  • Piccadilly Gardens – between 3pm and approximately 5pm
  • Market Street – between 3pm and approximately 6pm
  • Shudehill – between 3pm and approximately 6pm.

Metrolink tickets and prices

People wanting to use the tram can use their Parklife Travel Passes which will be valid on the Metrolink.

Tickets cost £5 for Saturday or Sunday, or £10 for the weekend, and these can be bought on the the Parklife website.

It will be an electronic ticket so make sure you keep it on your phone and that you have enough battery to show it in the evening.

You can also buy a tram ticket on the day using contactless. Simply touch-in and touch-out at the start and end of every journey at the contactless tap in points at each tram stop.

Prices start at £1.40 for a short hop and up to £7.10 for a 1-day anytime travelcard (or £4.90 off-peak) for all zones. If you forget to touch-in before your journey, you could be charged the contactless standard fare of £45. If you forget to touch-out, you will be charged the incomplete journey fare of £4.60.

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