£500k rail fund cash welcomed by MP
ROCHDALE MP Tony Lloyd has welcomed the announcement of the new government fund which could restore the rail line linking Rochdale to Bury via Heywood.
Some £500,000 will be spent exploring the feasibility of the project in more detail, after the Department for Transport decided it was worthy of further consideration.
Mr Lloyd said on the unveiling of the fund last Saturday: “Today’s Government announcement that Rochdale and Greater Manchester had been successful in its bid to the ‘Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund’ will allow for Transport for Greater Manchester, working with Rochdale council, to work up a business plan aimed at the reopening and improvement of some six miles of railway between Bury and Rochdale.
“This isn’t the scale of investment we need in our rail system but it is a step on the route of getting some high quality rail investment in the borough.
“Metrolink services and the rail service from Rochdale to Manchester provide transport to the city centre, but it does not provide the kind of connections we need to get around the city region, in particular, from Rochdale and Heywood to Bury.
“The current public transport offering between Heywood and Manchester city centre is provided by bus services but during the busiest times of the day this journey can take more than one hour, limiting the borough’s residents’ access to the many jobs located there.”
The £500m ‘Restoring Your Railway Fund’ aims to reinstate axed local services and restore closed stations.
The Greater Manchester five-year delivery plan, which was published last year by TfGM, shows the Bury–Heywood –Rochdale route to be of key consideration, with the corridor highlighted as being suitable for intervention. TfGM are also currently undertaking a tram-train pathfinder project in this area.