£6 million worth of funding has been confirmed to help develop proposals for the planned major expansion of tram and tram-train services across Greater Manchester. As previously revealed in the June government announcement of £15bn for transport projects in England’s city regions, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham has grand plans to expand and improve public transport in the region and this £6 million will be used to develop those plans further.
Advanced planning work will now take place on the following projects:
- Finalising the Strategic Outline Case for extending Metrolink to Stockport from East Didsbury this autumn. Construction would begin in 2030. Work will also take place o the potential for tram-train connections to Hazel Grove, Tameside via Denton and Reddish, and Manchester Airport
- Starting work in 2025 on the Strategic Outline Case for completion of the Metrolink “Western Leg”, which would serve a number of key growth areas at the Airport, Wythenshawe Hospital and Davenport Green. The potential for tram-train connections to Stockport, Altrincham and the Mid-Cheshire Line will also be explored.
- In summer 2026, preparation will start on the Strategic Outline Case for expanding Metrolink connections to Salford Crescent and Salford Quays, and out to the north-west of the city region including options for links to Leigh, Wigan and Bolton.
- Other work this year will look at all options for Middleton and the Northern Gateway and Trafford Waters, Port Salford and the Western Gateway and shape their business cases.
- Ongoing work to protect routes for longer-term schemes to Glossop, Hadfield, Marple and Warrington
- And the headline story of development of a new underground railway system will see early development take place.
In addition work is to continue on plans for an Oldham-Rochdale-Heywood-Bury tram-train route, with the hope that construction on that may begin as early as 2028.
There are also plans to look at the purchase of a new generation of trams which would complement the existing fleet of M5000s. These new vehicles would be double-length and fully walk through, offering extra capacity to meet the ever increasing demand for the trams.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “Every part of our city region needs to feel the benefits of Greater Manchester’s growth. To make sure that happens, we’ve pledged to connect our people and communities to new opportunities better than ever before. We’re planning to connect all ten boroughs to the ever-popular Metrolink network as part of a long-term, sustained expansion of the Bee Network.
“This latest funding means we can develop the case for a pipeline of both tram and tram-train new lines and extensions – and ultimately underground infrastructure in the city centre – to make sure we get a public transport system befitting the global city region we are.
“More people are getting on board the Bee Network, but we can’t afford to be complacent. We need to plan ahead to accommodate continued growth, with more tram, bus and train routes giving people a viable alternative to the car.”