Stockport tram on track for 2030 construction start

Would it not make more sense to use the existing frieght line that runs east west to Stockport then extend the existing East Didsbury tram stop? Doing that would mean building very expensive line that would include one bridge over the Mersey and one over the motorway?

I think the bigger story here is the tram-train route from Oldham to Bury including Heywood which isn’t connected by anything at the moment other than a bus. Everyone knows Stockport is getting the tram

Great to hear both developments are progressing. Tram-Trains have to be the future.

The costs being banded around are sickening. We can barely get anything done in this country anymore, we’ve choked ourselves with bureaucracy and made everything so expensive we cant get anything done. These things should be small-fry; how we’re ever going to get the tunnels needed in the city centre, I dont know.

By the pace of this, a subway mass transit should be considered by now for anything to start by 2040-50 to be finished by 2060-70.

Work to start in 2030! Why does infrastructure investment take so long in this country?

How long does it take to put a business case together? As far as I’m aware expanding the metro to Stockport and other areas e.g. Middleton have been part of TfGMSs strategy for several years and feasibility studies have presumably been taking place as part of this process. Anything relating to infrastructure seem to take forever and ever. At the end of the day we’re talking about a few miles of track; less talk, more action needed.

What complete and utter wastes of time and money. Stockport to Piccadilly eight minutes by train – over an hour by tram and just how many people are clamouring to get from Stockport to Didsbury??? Now a curve to link the Marple to Stockport line at Reddish and a curve at Middlewood to link Marple would benefit many thousands of journeys and substantially benefit the Offerton Road queues. Similarly its Oldham to Ashton that needs a new line – not Rochdale to Heywood because what Heywood needs is a direct city link, not one moribund town to another – but Metrolink is a media darling and no-one critiques it constructively!

I wondered how long it would take some simpleton to come along and claim that Stockport doesn’t need a tram because it’s already connected by train. Not everyone is travelling to the city centre. This makes journeys into south Manchester quicker, will enable south Manchester residents to not necessarily have to go to Piccadilly to access the West Coast Mainline, and gives Stockport residents a quicker route to Salford Quays and the Trafford Centre.

Metrolink will do good for the people and businesses of Stockport. Anything that will cut car congestion through Longsight and Levenshulme along the busy overcrowded A6 Stockport road is good for the environment.

A tram/train network on radial routes tied to current and future housing allocations would be a place to good start for future network expansion. So many areas in West Lancs and connections north to East Lancs are stranded because of poor transport links to the regional centre.

I agree with Old and Cynical. However, if you could get from Ashton to Bury, via Oldham Richdale, Heywood and Middleton, that would save people traipsing into Manchester to come out again. Stockport is not a priority. It already gets by far, the most significant investment outside Manchester and Salford, in GM.

Tram extension to Urmston and beyond next please. If it can be extended to Oldham, Bury and Stockport surely the line to the TC can be extended into Urmston.

I don’t why they can not convert the Altrincham to stockport ,to train and tram line,with a spur line to the airport,I think it will be much cheaper ,with no bridges to Build over the river Merey and the M60

Why does it take so ,so long.
In Japan the decide these projects on a Friday & work starts on the Monday. NOT 6 years down the line.

So 30yrs after the initial plans before work starts, yet other metrolink routes are done in quick time, and Stockport has to wait 5 yrs for a business plan, wasting £27.4 million. It’s an absolute disgrace, and then when it arrives in probably 2032, it won’t serve all the town centre, but stop half a mile away the busiest shopping area.

The residents of stockport had a 16 page booklet sent out to them all in 1999 showing new metro link into stockport tram line that was going to be built, it is now 2o25 how come it has taken 26 years to start the project all over a we again, we should have had this finished by 2005 at least. we should have sent some of our people over to china to see how soon they deliver a project like this for their country. it would be a complete waste of time and money as it is far quicker by train and in lots of cases far quicker by bus as people have still got to get to the tram stop first from where they live.to think that if passed in the autumn it would not be started until 2030 and completion not until approx 2035. only 36 years too much red tape and planning blocking. whats happened to our country

@ Old and Cynical is missing the point on the Oldham-Rochdale-Bury line, it’s designed to open an entirely new economic development zone for GM called Atom Valley, and will use a redundant branch of the Calder Valley line from Castleton currently used by a heritage railway.

This is a fantastic waste of taxpayer’s money, Stockport’ is already serviced by a great rail link. What benefits is a tram system going to provide? A train goes from Piccadilly to Stockport train station at least every 10 minutes.

Defined a tram service fir Stockport

The Tram for Stockport was supposed to start at the end of 2025. GMPTA had to work a way over the River Mersey at Heaton Mersey. To Me, it’s a waste of money, as trains, buses & taxis can take you to the same place or as near as can be. Also, be aware, there’s always problems with them. Like, cables being shorted or The tram’s come off its rails. That’s why the old Trams were stopped. Along with the danger of someone getting stuck in the tracks.

The obvious issue with using the freight line, is it’s a freight line. Makes it difficult to also run a metro frequency service on there.

Don’t need a tram in Stockport nothing to come in for,buses and trains adequate.

All well and good saying a route is already served until there’s a mechanical fault and there’s no alternative.

2030?! And what are we doing between now and then?

Stockport doesn’t need or want a tram, this proposal is just yet another vanity project and a total waste of money. Stockport already has excellent transport facilities plus the tram is so slow, it takes far too long to get into Manchester whilst the train takes 10 mins. Say no to the tram.

I sometimes have to get the bus from Chorlton to the outskirts of Stockport. It is a nightmare. The bus is slow and is often late, the frequency not good enough either. It takes 2 x longer than using my car. If the Metrolink went all the way to Stockport via East Didsbury it would make that journey much more feasible via public transport.

The point of a tram to Stockport via East Didsbury is not to get people from the city centre to Stockport but get people the suburbs of south Manchester into Stockport. The bus links from Didsbury and Stockport are also poor, due to several bus cuts since 2010. Having to wait 20 minutes for a bus at 7:30am is not good enough. The tram will solve so many of those issues.

2030 ? Why would you get tram that goes all round the house. When 192 goes straight to Manchester and in car
Same at Parrswood goes all the way round to old Trafford then Deansgate. I go straight down Kingsway. Most other countries have a rapid transport system straight to the heart of the city

There should be multiple schemes for Stockport. Makes sense to use the Stalybridge Stockport Line which is dud for Tram links and provide Denton Reddish with opportunities and connectivity and then connection to Manchester Victoria. Do we really need to extend East Dids to Stockport?

The metro link from Didsbury to Stockport should have been done from the start it’s only a couple of miles on existing track bed But now they’ve built a car showroom (mercedes)in the way!!!

New tram/ trains lines would be great for jobs,
The regional economy in general.
Bring it on

We in our area have to get two buses to even get to Didsbury or Stockport and has been so for years! Why not use the existing Fallowfield loop as not everyone wants to walk or cycle down a lonely route and would love a tram just to get to both those destinations especially for those with mobility issues. This would also make for easier connections to beyond without having to take a bus to Manchester and another out to do so!! Would definitely make an east-west connection easier at least!

I remember in 1992 when the first metrolink trams were introduced on the Bury to Altrincham line, the naysayers saying: “we don’t need it”, “no-one will use it”, “it will be a failure”, “its a waste of money” – how wrong they were. I predict that the Stockport metrolink will be a great success. I just don’t understand why it will take 5 years before a start on site.

I hope all the moaners get what they want and they connect all the other areas of Greater Manchester instead of Stockport.

The two curve Marple connection creating a Stockport loop line via Rose Hill & Hazel Grove is a really good idea. But I can’t see it happening. Marple has rather fallen off TfGMs radar. A while ago it was a serious candidate for tram train, but the best that seems to be hoped for now is a return to pre Covid service levels. Hardly a massive boost to encourage modal transfer.

This will be great for people who live in chorlton and didsbury and work in Stockport , or just fancy going shopping in Stockport or a night out or a match at the soon to be expanded Stockport county, and will make getting a train from Stockport to London , Sheffield , stoke, and brum quicker than going to Piccadilly. It’s just that a 2030 start is such a long time off, just in time for reform if they get in to cancel it!

Please please stop dilly dallying and get on with in. We’ve already waited long enough

This is brilliant news. The only downside is how long we have to wait to get things started. Great to see investment in critical infrastructure after years of Tory stagnation.

Perhaps I’m the only one but I really do not want the metrolink in Stockport. I moved to Stockport to get away from it.

The East Extension to Stockport has been in planning stage fot many years. For Heaven’s sake why starting construction as late as 2030!

5 years to start on one short tram line from Didsbury to Stockport.

And the costs will spiral out of control as they always do.

This country is utterly useless at large scale transport and infrastructure projects.

HS2, etc is proof of that.

Now this

Another bloomin “business case”!?! Money for old rope isn’t it? No wonder these infrastructure projects have no money left before they even start and the long term state of the economy is in the doldrums.

There’s still a strip of land between the Mercedes showroom and the motorway which could be used for the route. Demolish pure gym and pets at home, a small tunnel under the pyramid roundabout, re-locate the ambulance station, a small bridge over Travis brow and bobs your uncle.

The fallowfield loop should have been developed as a dual tram/cycleway.. it was essentially the only way across south Manchester.. most of it is still complete and was designed to carry much heavier steam locomotives.. stockport is a waste of time.. it was finished off and what they’re doing now is not breathing life into it.. far from it

For years I’ve waited for a tram to go from Oldham to Ashton. It’s so inconvenient for Oldham commuters to travel to Manchester to go to Ashton. There’s an old line that runs through Oldham kings road from where the old mumps line to Werneth used to be. So a line can go from there through kings road under the honeywell road bridge towards park bridge and into Ashton. That route is very much still available and not many people walk there. Such an easy route to construct, with minimal disruption. Compared to what metrolink have to go through for so many others

A line going to Stockport/East Didsbury from Ashton would actually be great and I think that may be in the plans for a future project. I hope at least that one works, it the oldham to Ashton doesn’t. They won’t do Oldham to Ashton but it certainly can work

I’m looking forward to the Rochdale to Bury link. That one made so much sense and they should have worked on that years ago. Bury to Bolton could have worked too but they won’t do that. There could be a link from Westwood through Middleton to Heaton Park. That would be it’s own shortcut to Bury from Oldham.

I commute to East Didsbury the most for cineworld and Ashton I just walk from home but years ago I used to bus it. Then Bury is the other occasional commute I do. But I would have really loved the oldham to Ashton.

I do miss the oldham to freehold one stop. That was such a great shortcut that they’ve got rid of, but should have kept. Would have made it so much easier for us commuters, rather than always having to go through town

Tameside to Stockport via Denton & Reddish? Believe that when I see it – a completely forgotten about and under invested part of Greater Manchester.

It’s the black holes that need solving connectivity-wise e.g. Marple to Stockport.

The wrong choice. Stockport to Manchester 10 min on the train. Andy Burnham clearly needs better advisors. See my forthcoming epic volume, “Manchester: The Biography”, for what’s needed locally.

All we’ve know as fact is it’ll be 2030 before shovels even hit the ground and cost 27.4M just on bureaucracy and inaction. Then the unknown – real eye-watering amounts well into £000’s millions, wrapped in red tape resulting in indecision, delays and overruns until it’s eventually cancelled.

Taking too long, the business case should already have been developed.

Haven’t we (Stockport) waited long enough for the tram, without having to wait another 5 years!!!

Why does it take so long to build a tramway. look how the rest of the world dues it !

There is an inequity in all these transport proposals. We all pay in taxes to help finance them, and when they’re built the property owners whose assets are served get a big increase in their property values as a result. The GMCA should be asking the government for powers to bring in a Greater Manchester Land Value Tax so these capital gains coul;d be captured to pay for the new infrastructure.

How about better connecting the north of the region by resurrecting the old plan for an overhead monoral from Manchester city centre via Middleton to Heywood? Cheaper and less destructive than laying tram tracks in the street.

Hello, I live in Wythenshawe which is Zone 4 of the tram system but have worked in Stockport for 2 decades. The trams were installed in Manchester when my son was a baby 35yrs ago. Though I praise any much needed investments and infrastructure sadly I will be retired so I won’t be able appreciate them when I needed them most. We need the choice to cover all bases such as if a bus or train was cancelled. Its not the best in Winter sometimes, its damp, dark, windy, cold, you are wondering why the bus hasn’t turned up, hardly Siberia but still. Stop dragging your feet. If there is one thing I learnt when participating in a couple of local community events trying to get money, when somebody tells you there is none it’s not true. There is always a pot of money, you just don’t know the name of it.. yet.

Regards

Miss Smith

That £2.5 bn wont go far over the next 5-10 yrs. By the time everyone has eyed it up and sharpened their pencils and the pound continues to inflate away to nothing it should just about pay for all of the consultants and bureaucrats. Douglas Adam’s Ark ship B is real . Unfortunately we are now living in it.

Ark ship B is indeed a good description of modern Britain. I can just see our glorious leader sat in his bath. These proposals are great in theory but it would be nice to get them finished before we crash into the sun.

Farcical! 2030 start, how ridiculous and no doubt end up costing gazillions

Would love to see the East Didsbury extension stop at Cheadle Heath & Adswood – it’d breathe new life into both towns that are a little cut-off from the rail/tram networks

I would love to know how this will be done becuase having done the walk, you would have to either relandscape the area going onto Didsbury Rd otherwise you will end up in a large field

Mind you, that is the line that went to London St Pamcrass before Beching closed it

I would like to see the proposed route that the tram is going to take from East Didsbury to Stockport. Crossing the River Mersey will certainly be a difficult engineering problem. Where are the stops going to be on the route? Whilst the people of Stockport will have to wait until 2030 for the expensive project to start, would it not be possible for the residents of Reddish and Denton have the passenger rail service from Stockport to Manchester Victoria and beyond? The route is is in place and it has been argued that an hourly service is possible now! Routing some trains from Stockport to Manchester Victoria (both ways) would free up the congestion problems at Manchester Piccadilly. The business case for this proposal would seem much stronger than the Stockport tram. I suspect the powers that be prefer a new shiny project rather than using something that with a fraction of the cost would help to generate growth in the North West.

The Stockport extension should start asap, not 2030. The Heywood spur starts in 2028, why not start the Stockport extension, in 2028 also. The next GE is pencilled in for 2029 and another government I fear would probably postpone it. (Just like Eurostar and HS2 have been.). The tram link to Stockport would connect the borough to the all the existing boroughs and ease the traffic in the highly congested Stockport borough. Take action now Mr Burnham, and start both schemes in parallel.

The line going via reddish seems the most appropriate route which Stockport residents are going to benefit from! Didsbury and Stockport already have easy links into the centre! Do the reddish and Denton route and join this part of the city in within an easy network into the railways!

Wouldn’t it be better to have a tram-train service from Altrincham to Stockport along existing track to connect with the Metrolink at Baguley, which is right next to the main line railway? This would bring in Gatley, Timperley and points east without having to lay miles of new track.