Metrolink tram and car collide in Ashton-under-Lyne, injuring one and halting Ashton line

Mixed · 2A Metrolink tram and a car collided on Lord Sheldon Way in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, on Saturday 17 October 2026, and an elderly woman was injured. 1 2 Left · 1Greater Manchester Police said it received a call at around 1.20pm about a road traffic collision between a car and a tram, and that an elderly woman was treated by ambulance crew at the scene; the Mirror reports the car was a Volkswagen and the crash was on the Ashton line. 1 Right · 1Police, firefighters, paramedics and Metrolink staff attended near the Lord Sheldon Arms pub and Notcutts garden centre; Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said one fire engine from Ashton Community Fire Station was called shortly after 1.40pm and crews were working with Metrolink staff and police to make the area safe. 2

Mixed · 2A witness told the Manchester Evening News that the tram was blocking the entire entrance to the site with no other exit route, that three ambulances were present and that people on the tram were injured and being taken off by ambulance staff; the official statements quoted only mention one injured woman. 1 2 Mixed · 2Police said a report of a traffic offence had been made; neither outlet says who is alleged to have committed it or gives a cause for the crash. 1 2 Mixed · 2Trams between Velopark and Ashton were suspended, with tickets accepted on a number of Bee Network bus services, and the Mirror reports traffic building up on the M60 near junction 23. 1 2

Mixed · 2The closure affected Manchester City fans travelling to the 3pm Premier League match against Ipswich Town at the Etihad, and those who had parked at Ashton West or Ashton Moss Park & Ride were told to take the 216 bus. 1 2 Mixed · 2The Bee Network later said tram services were operating again on the Ashton line, with delays, and apologised for the disruption. 1 2