How 30 years of Metrolink transformed Manchester - and where it's going now

Just before dawn on April 6, 1992 more than 300 trainspotters, photographers and journalists gathered in the dark and drizzle of Bury station. They were there to witness something unique - the departure of the first ever Metrolink service.

Just after 6am the maiden tram was on its way, making the 11 stop journey to Victoria station, and a new era in public transport in Greater Manchester was born. Keith Whitmore, chairman of Greater Manchester Transport Heritage, was among the passengers onboard.

"It was a gleaming tram - it felt new," he recalled in 2016. "It was full and there were so many photographers, it was like a celebrity coming into the city centre."

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Three months later the Queen would visit that same platform to officially launch the Metrolink network. But it had taken 10 years of hard graft to get to that point - and many more years grappling with possible solutions to Manchester's north/south rail divide.

Metrolink wasn't Manchester's first tram network. Starting out life as a horse-drawn operation the Manchester Suburban Tramways Company had run from 1877 to 1949. By 1930 the network had grown to 160 miles, making it the third largest in the UK.

But, after the Second World War, when buses became a cheaper option, trams fell out of favour and the lines were closed. However it soon became apparent that might have been hasty decision.

As cars filled the streets, congestion became a big problem and a glaring lack of cross-city train connections trains only worsened matters. Greater Manchester County Council - which held the reins from 1974 to 1986 - began to look at possible solutions to