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‘Metrolink will never come here’ says Council leader
by Alex Scapens18/ 6/2008
THE Metrolink will ‘never come to Stockport’, but the viability of the our own circular light-railway connecting large parts of the borough is being investigated.
Council Leader Dave Goddard says the ambitious concept is being researched as an alternative to Greater Manchester’s tram system.
Despite a Metrolink extension to Stockport being proposed after the current £3billion Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) programme, coun Goddard thinks it will not happen.
The revelation comes as the controversial issue of congestion charging is debated - which the council leader claims will do nothing for the borough.
He is demanding more investment in Stockport public transport before the council considers supporting the scheme and says the light-railway link could be the answer.
Coun Goddard said: "It would be an indication people are taking congestion in Stockport seriously at the moment they are not, it (the congestion charge) is just an arbitrary tax.
"The Metrolink is never going to come to Stockport and we need to do something. Let’s have a look at rail - we have lines that are not that busy. I don’t see why we couldn’t have a circular line that connect areas to Stockport station and become like a tram system. If people knew one was coming every 10 minutes they wouldn’t need to use the car. It could connect all the east of the borough. Officers are looking into it."
Central to the plan would be South Reddish station, where currently there is only one train a week, but campaigners are lobbying for a regular service. The possibility of including Marple, Bredbury, Hazel Grove and even places as far as New Mills form part of the initial investigation. A vital part of any link would be the route that runs from Stockport station through South Reddish and ultimately on to Victoria in central Manchester. But the line is not included in a Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive map of the area’s planned rail links, released as part of TIF.
Dot Ashworth, from the Friends of South Reddish Station, added: "A regular service from Stockport through South Reddish to Victoria remains our major goal but anything that promotes greater use of the station would be fantastic. We will be interested to see the results of the viability study."
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20/06/2008 at 15:16
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