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Metrolink plans are back on track
21/ 5/2008
WORK is to begin on extending the tram network to Droylsden after the government finally signed off a £520m funding package for the Metrolink.
The cash was originally offered by the government for a bigger expansion programme — only to be withdrawn by the then Transport Secretary Alistair Darling in 2004 when costs spiralled.
The money was reinstated after a campaign by our sister paper, the MEN. Mr Darling’s successor, Douglas Alexander, agreed to allow the money to be used on the ‘Little Bang’ in 2006.
But the funding was to be handed over in several parts —and conditional on local transport chiefs proving they could keep costs under control.
The Droylsden line is expected to be complete by 2011 and the Rochdale line to the north a year later. In all, the extensions are predicted to boost Metrolink passenger numbers by 50 per cent, adding an extra 10m journeys a year by 2012.
The announcement comes as Greater Manchester councils wait to hear if ministers will back their bid for £3bn improvements from the Transport Innovation Fund.
The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities wants £1.2bn of grant, plus permission to borrow £1.8bn more, in return for introducing a congestion charge of up to £5 a day at current prices. Transport minister Rosie Winterton had been expected to announce by the middle of this month whether the government would back the proposals. A decision is now expected at the end of the month. The £3bn would fund a `Big Bang extension of Metrolink — as far as Ashton, Manchester Airport and Rochdale plus massive investment in buses and trains.
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25/05/2008 at 09:07
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