Metrolink passengers coming into the city centre from the south won’t be able to get past Cornbrook or Deansgate for TWO MONTHS this summer.

Impressive images show what a new St Peter’s Square stop near the Cenotaph will look like - but there will be pain before the gain.

From June 28 for two months, passengers travelling from Altrincham, the airport, East Didsbury, Eccles and MediaCity will have to alight at Cornbrook or Deansgate-Castlefield.

They can then walk or catch a Metrolink shuttle, known as a Metroshuttle into Piccadilly.

And for ten months after that, no trams will stop at St Peter’s Square - although in September trams will again start passing through it on a single line.

Then next summer, a final-eight week closure will see the completion of the works, before the stop reopens in the autumn.

Services on all other lines (Oldham and Rochdale and Bury) will run into Piccadilly throughout.

Peter Cushing, Metrolink director at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “We’re completely rebuilding the St Peter’s Square stop and all our planning has been geared towards limiting the impact, as far as possible, on our customers and the services we offer. We need to stop running trams run through St Peter’s Square at the start and end of the construction work – so we’ve planned this during the quieter summer months.

“Over eight weeks this summer we’ll be carrying out works to make sure we can keep trams running on a single line through the square for the vast majority of the work programme. It’s all geared towards keeping connections for our customers across the city for people to get to work, shops, and travel to big events or enjoy a night out.

“Make no mistake, it’s a hugely complex and challenging construction project, but I’m confident we’ve planned the right services to keep reliable, frequent tram links across the city.”

The Second City Crossing route is expected to open in 2017.

When completed, the new stop will have two ‘island’ platforms and two sets of track in each direction so more services can run through it as part of the Second City Crossing.

The work at St Peter’s Square will follow the major redevelopment of the Deansgate-Castlefield stop currently under way, which will provide a turning point for trams south of the city centre.

It’s part of a £1bn investment in the city’s infrastructure up to 2017.

From June 28, the following services will run: