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We're back on track

23/ 5/2008

A LONG campaign by the North East Manchester Advertiser to bring the Metrolink to the area has finally paid off.

On Friday Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly came to Manchester to sign off a £520m funding package for the Metrolink's `Little Bang', which brings the tram into east Manchester.

It will mean work can begin immediately extending the tram network as far as Droylsden in the east, Rochdale train station in the north and Chorlton in the south. The east Manchester Metrolink service will be part of the Droylsden route.

The cash was originally offered by the government for a bigger expansion programme - only to be withdrawn by the then Transport Secretary Alistair Darling in 2004 when costs spiralled.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 massive campaign by the North East Manchester Advertiser, supported by other Greater Manchester newspapers, including the Manchester Evening News. 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, conditional on local transport chiefs proving they could keep costs under control.

The government is now satisfied and has announced that the final slice of the `Little Bang' money, running into hundreds of millions of pounds, will be signed over.

The Droylsden line in now expected to be complete by 2011, and the Rochdale line a year later.

In all, the extensions are predicted to boost Metrolink passenger numbers by 50 per cent, adding an extra 10 million journeys a year by 2012.

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said: "Metrolink has been at the heart of Greater Manchester's transport system for more than a decade. Carrying 20 million passengers a year, it has been providing an excellent service to local residents and commuters.

"These much-anticipated improvements will make a huge difference to local public transport, and are expected to carry an extra 10 million passengers a year.

"Giving final approval to these plans reflects the Government's commitment to providing convenient, reliable and comfortable public transport.

"This ensures people have a real alternative to using their cars, and supports my aim to tackle congestion and reduce harmful pollution."

The announcement comes despite the controversial bid for £3bn improvements from the Transport Innovation Fund, including a congestion charge, by Greater Manchester councils and transport chiefs.

The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) 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, expected to be even more if the Toll Tax is introduced in around 2012.

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 Manchester Airport, Ashton under Lyne and Rochdale town centre - plus investment in buses and trains.

AGMA chiefs are likely to herald the announcement as good news - but warn that more money is needed to give the region a world-class transport system