Burnham demands Metrolink is extended to Stockport

THE Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has called on the Government to help fasttrack the extension of Metrolink to Stockport, writes Tony Miles.

Council and transport bosses will now work to develop an ‘outline business case’ for extending the tram line from East Didsbury into Stockport’s new transport interchange, with the mayor hoping to see work begin by 2025.

The cost of the extension is estimated to be between £500million and £1billion.

The new call comes after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps hinted funding could be made available for the extension during the General Election campaign.

Mr Burnham said: “Stockport is already leading the way nationally on town centre regeneration. However, we need the Government to give us the powers that we need in parallel with the funding so that we can fast-track Metrolink from East Didsbury to Stockport.

‘Ambitious’

“Greater Manchester has already demonstrated its track record of delivering ambitious and major infrastructure projects on time and on budget with the right funding and powers in place, and we want to continue this track record here in Stockport and deliver growth, jobs and investment in the town.”

Several stretches of the original heavy-rail trackbed from East Didsbury still exist (on the former Midland Railway route from Manchester Central to Stockport Tiviot Dale), but parts have been used for redevelopment, and towards Stockport very little remains.

Terminating the new line at the transport interchange would also mean Metrolink would not connect to heavy rail at Stockport station. As well as the linear distance, there is also a considerable climb between the bus interchange and the station.

With the station becoming more popular, and car parking on the site becoming increasingly expensive, a failure to extend Metrolink here could be an embarrassing mistake.