Shudehill Interchange
Shudehill Interchange is a transport hub in Manchester city centre, Manchester, consisting of a Metrolink tram stop, opened on 31 March 2003 on the already present First City Crossing line and a bus station, opened on 29 January 2006 to the east of the tram stop.
The interchange sits between the Victoria and Northern Quarter areas of Manchester city centre. The Metrolink stop sits directly adjacent and parallel to the bus station.
History
Prior to development (before 1992)
There was a bus station underneath the Manchester Arndale, which is what Shudehill bus station was replacing. That bus station, Cannon Street, opened on 24 September 1979, and buses had gates to the station via Cannon Street and Shudehill, the latter entrance of which still exists but for deliveries to the Manchester Arndale only. The bus station became Manchester's busiest soon, handling 30,000 passengers and 1,500 bus moves every day by 1991.Prior to Metrolink stop (1992-2003)
The Metrolink tracks for the First City Crossing were opened through the site on 27 April 1992, but a stop wasn't built at Shudehill. Instead, a stop at High Street was built adjacent to Market Street serving trams in the southbound direction only.14 June 1996 became the Cannon Street bus station's final full day in-service, as the next day at 11:17 GMT, the IRA bombing incident in 1996 would damage multiple buildings in the area, including the Manchester Arndale. The bus station was not rebuilt and a new one at Manchester Shudehill was to replace it.
Designed by Ian Simpson Architects, construction had initially started on Shudehill bus station in 1998 and it was planned to have been completed and fully operational by 2000, but several disputes over the ownership of the site along with two public inquiries over the course of five years resulted in the construction work on the station being halted.
On 10 April 2002, construction of the tram stop began, however legal difficulties meant that even after the tram stop finished construction in November 2002, the stop wasn't opened immediately. The bus station's construction was resumed in 2003.
After Metrolink stop (2003-2006)
The Metrolink stop opened on 31 March 2003 to passengers, and was officially opened on 28 April by Minister of State for Transport John Spellar. Shudehill has been the least used tram stop in the city centre for most of the years that it has been open. The bus station opened on 29 January 2006.After bus station (after 2006)
The tram stop was refurbished in around 2009 for the rebranding of the Metrolink. Also around this time, the old passenger information displays used at the tram stop were removed. They were replaced with new ones in 2013.Layout
The bus station and tram stop are both at street-level, and connected directly. The entire interchange has step-free access via ramps, however its accessibility has been challenged in the past. There are cycle racks available at the interchange next to the tram stop's inbound platform. Above the bus station is a car park which has an entrance on Hanover Street and several entrances for pedestrians.Bus station
Shudehill Interchange's bus station has 11 stands, lettered from A to L, leaving out I. There is an entrance and exit for buses on Shudehill, leading to Withy Grove heading west and Rochdale Road heading east.Metrolink tram stop
Shudehill tram stop has two platforms, which aren't named or numbered.Two double-sided dot matrix passenger information displays stand serving one platform each, and show estimated arrival times for trams in minutes up to 30 minutes prior and number of carriages.
Services
Bus
As of 2026, 19 different Bee Network bus routes run through Shudehill Interchange, including X41 and X43 operated by the Blackburn Bus Company, and free bus route 2 to Manchester Piccadilly station.Coach services are operated by Flixbus and Megabus. In April 2009, the Manchester Megabus stop moved from the Chorlton Street coach station to Shudehill Interchange. Flixbus began intercity services to Manchester Shudehill from London in 2020.
Metrolink
Every route across the Manchester Metrolink network operates to a 12-minute headway Monday–Saturday, and to a 15-minute headway on Sundays and bank holidays. Sections served by a second "peak only" route will have a combined headway of 6 minutes during peak times.Shudehill is located in Zone 1, and the stop itself has two platforms. Trams towards Piccadilly, Manchester Airport via Market Street, and an extra service running direct to Altrincham via Market Street during peak times all depart from the inbound platform. The outbound platform serves trams one-stop to Victoria, and more services operate onwards to Bury via Victoria every 12 minutes and every 6 minutes at peak times.
Incidents
- 27 May 2022: At around 11:17 BST, a passenger who attempted to board a tram during the closing doors sequence ended up with their hand tangled in a bag strap, which itself was stuck in the door. The driver did not look at the CCTV footage on the platform before departing, and the passenger was dragged 13 metres across the outbound platform serving trams towards Victoria and Bury, before getting their hand unstuck.
- 24 October 2024: A "concern for welfare" incident shut Shudehill and Market Street tram stops for a few hours.
Other transport connections