MORE AMBITIONS NEVER REALISED

Coventry ( December 1990): City Council and Centro officials have returned from a visit to the LRT system at Grenoble, in France, and are committed to a similar network. There are proposals for four lines radiating from the city centre.

There are solid plans for ultra light transit from the station to University Hospital, but a 2024 opening seems optimistic.

Stockport ( November 2000): The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive has been given sanction to apply for Government consent to build a £ 90m extension of Metrolink.

Tram seems to go everywhere around Manchester nowadays… except Stockport. Metrolink was back on the agenda again in January - just before COVID19 drained away potential finance.

Bowburn ( December 2010): Contracts have been exchanged for the new 540- acre Durham International Rail Freight Interchange next to Junction 61 of the A1( M), including a business park, hotels and offices. It will create 7,000 jobs.

Dream on… the terminal was never built and rail no longer features in plans for the site, which has shrunk in size by half. When it opens, the principal occupant will be Amazon, which is offering employment for 1,000 people.