A total of 28 new trams have been purchased by Greater Manchester Transport Authority to run on a series of new Metrolink lines.

The project, costing £575 million, will lay new lines to Droylsden, Oldham and Rochdale, and also Chorlton.

Each tram is priced at a little more than £2 million and will be put together in a construction partnership between Vossloh Kiepe and Bombardier.

Philip Purdy, a Metrolink director, said: "We've got a construction team in place to build the three new lines, and I'm pleased we've now reached the stage where we can order new trams to run on them."

Mr Purdy expects 90,000 journeys to take place on the new tram lines every day, so the extra trams, each capable of carrying 200 people, will be needed to satisfy demand.

The lines will lead to a doubling of the tram network and a welcome boost to Manchester's public transport infrastructure.