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Wednesday, 13 May 2009Transport bosses celebrate funding announcement

Transport leaders in Greater Manchester are celebrating news of a quarter of a billion pound boost for Metrolink, bus and park-and-ride schemes.

The Vice Chair of Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) met with Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon today as he welcomed the fast-tracking of two new Metrolink extensions to Ashton in Tameside and East Didsbury in South Manchester, as well as a package of cross-city bus improvements and new park-and-ride spaces.

Mr Hoon today welcomed proposals to bring forward £195 million of government funding for the four schemes. The remaining funding for the £244 million schemes will come from local contributions.

Greater Manchester will now bring forward business cases for the two Metrolink schemes and, subject to assurance on value for money, affordability and deliverability, work could start on the ground before the end of 2009.

Councillor Keith Whitmore, Vice Chair of GMITA, said: "This is great news. Today's announcement is an important step forward in delivering some significant improvements for passengers using Greater Manchester's buses, trains and trams.

"We are talking about fast-tracking four major transport schemes that will open up new links with the essentials - jobs, education and healthcare - and investment at a time when it is needed most.

"We've dedicated a lot of time and effort over the past year to proving how investment in public transport can trigger economic growth - and I am pleased to see our work has come to fruition."

Councillor Matt Colledge, Chair of GMITA, said: "Metrolink offers frequent links to the city centre and has already taken millions of cars off our roads. The bus proposals would improve regional links into the city centre and specifically with the universities and hospitals on Oxford Road.

"More park-and-ride spaces would make our trains and trams a more realistic option for lots of commuters and would, in turn, take thousands more cars off our roads.

"So we believe that the proposals being fast-tracked today represent considerable gains for communities across Greater Manchester and will be of great benefit to passengers."

Construction work is already underway on tram lines to Chorlton and Droylsden. The new Ashton line would call at Audenshaw, Ashton Moss, Ashton West and Ashton-under-Lyne. The new East Didsbury line would call at Withington, Burton Road, West Didsbury, Didsbury Village and East Didsbury.

Construction work on the new Metrolink lines, which would create hundreds of jobs, could start in late 2009 and they could open by late 2013.

The cross-city bus proposals include introducing more bus priority measures to make journeys to the universities and hospitals on Oxford Road quicker and more reliable.

This will include new links from north and west Greater Manchester and improve the quality of buses serving the area. Construction could start in autumn 2010, with completion in spring 2014.

The new park-and-ride spaces would serve a mix of rail and Metrolink routes. The proposed sites are spread across the region and would serve Metrolink stops and train stations, providing a fast onward journey to the city centre.

At the majority of locations, an increase in the number of spaces is proposed, with improvements to safety and security proposed at sites that are currently under-used.

The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) has also agreed a Greater Manchester Transport Fund prioritising public transport and highway schemes involving an investment of over £1.5 billion.

The transport strategy - which includes the fast-tracked schemes announced today - focuses funding on schemes which deliver the greatest benefits for the economy of Greater Manchester.

It involves funding of over £1 billion through contributions from local transport programmes, future GMITA levies and regional allocations which have been earmarked for Greater Manchester.

This funding and prioritisation proposal has been submitted formally to the Secretary of State for approval.

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