The Transport for Greater Manchester Committee are due to meet this week to discuss plans for an extension of the Metrolink system to serve the Trafford Centre. A 5.5km route has been earmarked which would leave the current network close to Pomona before making its way to the Trafford Centre. Funding has already been provided by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to get the scheme “shovel ready” including enough for an extra 10 trams.
The line would leave the current Metrolink line at Pomona before running alongside the Manchester Ship Canal, then following Trafford Wharf Road and Warren Bruce Road before heading through the Village area of Trafford Park. The line will then cross Parkway Circle and the Bridgewater Canal before terminating at the Trafford Centre itself. The exact locations of stops have yet to be confirmed but they should be close to key facilities including Wharfside for Old Trafford, the Imperial War Museum North, Trafford Park Village, Parkway, Event City and the Trafford Centre.
Cllr Andrew Fender, Chair of the TfGM Committee, said: “This is an important step on the road to delivering this new line, which would be a fantastic addition to what is already a flagship centre for business and tourism. The route has evolved over time and better reflects how the area it would serve has developed – and continues to develop – since an original set of plans were approved back in 2001. There is a great deal of work ahead of us before we can start to think of shovels hitting the ground, but I’m really pleased that it is building momentum and I look forward to more progress being made in the coming months and years.”
The scheme is due to be put out to public consultation next year before a formal application is submitted to the government for a Transport and Works Act Order which would give TfGM the statutory powers to construct the line, as soon as funding is in place. The GMCA are already providing some money towards the line which will allow 10 more trams to be purchased from Bombardier. Being able to order these now will allow the current supply stream to be continued which in turn will keep the price down.
It is hoped the line will be complete by 2019.
Six years to build 5.5km of tram line. Seventy + miles of the Settle and Carlisle were built in that time so where have we gone wrong, answers on a postcard please Tony Stevenson
Bureaucracy, red tape, and the dreaded Elf & Safety.
I don’t think we really want health and safety Victorian style. How many died building the Settle – Carlisle?
Quite right Tony,the Victorians built most of the nations rail network within ten years,and most of it is still standing.They would be turning in their graves now,looking at how long it takes to put a few miles of track down.Allthough I think the line to the Trafford centre will be a great money spinner for tfgm.Its been crying out for a light rail link for years.i for one would not even think of going anywhere near the Trafford centre this time of year in a car.
Also many who visit the Trafford Centre from Chester, Liverpool and Preston will be tempted to travel to Manchester centre without the hassle of having to park the car.
Exciting news!! It is just a shame that other towns and cities in Britian are not following the path of Manchester by getting tramways and then extending them. Such a shame. Manchester has really shown that this is a good mode of transport.
Having observed much of the Metrolink extension work, the track gets put down at a great rate of knots. What takes so much time is the “public consultation” that has to be undertaken. The relocation of a plethora of poorly designed existing infrastructure such as cable networks, drains, electric, gas, telecoms and many others that we don’t even know about – nor do the contractors until they dig through them! And you musn’t forget the nimbies who don’t want the trams going by in case they can’t park on the road any longer.