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Next stop Chorlton
Marie Burchill1/ 5/2008
WORK on the new Chorlton spur of the Metrolink tram could be underway in weeks, the Reporter can reveal.
Councillor Val Stevens – deputy leader of Manchester City Council – has confirmed that work will begin on the ‘Little Bang’ extension before the summer is out – 16 years after talks to bring Metrolink to Chorlton were first held.
It is believed that Chorlton will fall within the first phase of the planned ‘Little Bang’ development as the necessary work covers only a short amount of track, 1.8 miles, on a former railway track.
Work will see a line created that will connect with the Trafford Bar stop on the way into the city centre.
Three new stops will be created; one next to Morrisons supermarket on Wilbraham Road; one on St Werburgh’s Road and one on Ryebank Road in neighbouring Firswood.
When the lines open in 2010, trams will service the three stops every six minutes.
Coun Stevens – who also sits on the board of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) – has revealed that the work will begin on the lines over the coming months and will take two years to complete.
Coun Stevens said: "I am very confident that the Chorlton line will be completed within the first phase of the works. The track is currently disused and covers just a short distance, so I expect it will be near the top of the list in the schedule of work.
"Some basic engineering works have already started in advance of the mechanical works, so the infrastructure is already there.
"The stations will be relatively easy to construct, so the major work will take place on the tracks." The track will run from Firswood behind the allotments at the end of Titterington Road and cross Manchester Road under the bridge near Chorlton Leisure Centre. It will then run behind Albany trading estate to Morrisons.
The line to St Werburgh’s Road will be created on the disused railway track which runs parallel to Corkland Road.
It is thought that the work to extend the Metrolink in Chorlton will lead to minimal disruption as it will be carried out on lines that already exist.
Coun Stevens said: "People will be notified of any work that is set to take place. However, the majority of the work needed to be done will be on the tracks, so it will have little impact on the roads.
"We are hoping that the Metrolink will lead some people to get rid of their cars completely and take the greener option. It was just days ago that bosses at GMPTE unveiled the consortium they would like to build the new Metrolink lines which in total will run to Oldham, Rochdale and Droylsden, as well as Chorlton – almost doubling the size of the network. The preferred bidder, selected by GMPTE, is M Pact Thales Consortium – made up of three contractors.
The new lines are expected to take five million car journeys off local roads every year, and to increase the number of trips passengers make on the network each day from 55,000 to more than 90,000. Withington MP John Leech said: "This is good news and not before time. This will be a big boost to Chorlton and will massively improve people’s choice in public transport."
The news has been welcomed by Chorlton traders. Darren Birch of Pad gift shop on Manchester Road said: "This is great news. We hope that it will bring more trade into the area and enable people to get around using a greener alternative."
Transport bosses are currently working on plans to extend the Metrolink line even further to cover Didsbury – providing their bid for a further £500 million from the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) is successful.
The additional phase would see the introduction of Metrolink stops on West Didsbury’s Princess Parkway, Burton Road and Lapwing Lane. A spokesman for GMPTE said he was unable to comment until the contact with M Pact had been signed.
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1/05/2008 at 18:56