Manchester Metrolink orbital proposal

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Well, I suppose a dedicated railway station and at least three tram stops within 10-15 minutes walk just isn't enough... :roll: Next they'll be wanting trains from London and Penzance to Old Trafford seeing as that's where most of their fanbase resides!

I really had to laugh when I saw someone's rather carefully constructed plan for this orbital network on the SSC website, with all connecting points duly shown.

Instead of putting Cornbrook (that Metrolink hub where all trams seem to meet), the word "Colnbrook" (a village in the unitary region of Slough in Berkshire) had inadvertently been shown in error...

 

[Busaholic]

Well, I suppose a dedicated railway station and at least three tram stops within 10-15 minutes walk just isn't enough... :roll: Next they'll be wanting trains from London and Penzance to Old Trafford seeing as that's where most of their fanbase resides!

Penzance?! I'm aware of more Man City supporters here than Man Utd, though we're still talking peanuts in terms of numbers: mind you, years ago when I won a ball signed by all the Man Utd players in a raffle, there were any number of people who tried talking me into taking an inferior prize instead, so maybe you are right. First, silent Tories then silent Man Utd supporters.

 

[transmanche]

mind you, years ago when I won a ball signed by all the Man Utd players in a raffle, there were any number of people who tried talking me into taking an inferior prize instead

What was the inferior prize? Two balls signed by the Man Utd players...?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

What was the inferior prize? Two balls signed by the Man Utd players...?

I shall hereby refrain from making the obvious posting answer to such a described scenario above...

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Penzance?! I'm aware of more Man City supporters here than Man Utd, though we're still talking peanuts in terms of numbers: mind you, years ago when I won a ball signed by all the Man Utd players in a raffle, there were any number of people who tried talking me into taking an inferior prize instead, so maybe you are right. First, silent Tories then silent Man Utd supporters.

Perhaps I'm showing my age, as during the 1990s it was United that were far and away the favoured team of glory hunters. I think it was Danny Baker who joked about how there were traffic jams on the M5 whenever United were playing at home... and of course their famous chant "Ooo-aarrr, Cantona!" which came about because they were all from Bodmin!

 

[Busaholic]

What was the inferior prize? Two balls signed by the Man Utd players...?

An inferior prize which I sold for £110 to a lady in Portishead.
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Perhaps I'm showing my age, as during the 1990s it was United that were far and away the favoured team of glory hunters. I think it was Danny Baker who joked about how there were traffic jams on the M5 whenever United were playing at home... and of course their famous chant "Ooo-aarrr, Cantona!" which came about because they were all from Bodmin!

Now, Bodmin and Penzance - that's like mixing up Sunderland and Newcastle (in that order). Fifty miles and a century away.

 

[HSTEd]

The most important component of an "orbital" line in the medium term is probably Manchester Airport-Stockport as part of HS2 support works.

It would likely consist of a Stockport-Didsbury line with a relatively short section connecting Didsbury directly to the Airport line.

Of course the Stockport line has been scrapped and replaced with some idiotic tram-train vapourware......

 

[WatcherZero]

The Lib Dem Stockport councillors were anti-tram at the time.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Let this thread matter be looked at the cold light of financial viability and look at the existing currently "hoped for" project of the Manchester Metrolink Trafford Park line and its financial arrangements required.

Can anyone suggest, with financial matters being as they are, where the extremely large amount of finance to provide an orbital tram route with new trams to service it in the Greater Manchester area is coming from?

 

[telstarbox]

Funding is committed for the Trafford Park Line, it just needs to go through the public inquiry which started yesterday.

 

[northwichcat]

The Lib Dem Stockport councillors were anti-tram at the time.

I think they were more interested in re-opening the Marple to Stockport line than looking at yet more public transport services to central Manchester, a market that's already well served.

 

[rebmcr]

I think they were more interested in re-opening the Marple to Stockport line than looking at yet more public transport services to central Manchester, a market that's already well served.

An extension to the line via Chorlton and Didsbury is hardly competitive as a route to central Manchester, but it would really help open up those areas to Stockport residents, and vice-versa — especially for south Manchester residents connnecting onto southbound Virgin Trains services, which currently require a bus journey followed by a 10-minute walk up a steep hill (which makes travelling into and then out of Piccadilly in the congested centre necessary instead).

 

[northwichcat]

An extension to the line via Chorlton and Didsbury is hardly competitive as a route to central Manchester

There was once a tram-train proposal for Macclesfield to Manchester long before the Didsbury line was agreed and future options for that line was being looked at - unsurprisingly local Councillors didn't see the point of it!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Funding is committed for the Trafford Park Line, it just needs to go through the public inquiry which started yesterday.

Accepted, but what about my query for the funding of a far greater sized project that is the orbital Manchester Metrolink tramway, which actually is the subject of this thread.

 

[edwin_m]

Accepted, but what about my query for the funding of a far greater sized project that is the orbital Manchester Metrolink tramway, which actually is the subject of this thread.

Before considering whether and how to obtain funding, it's a good idea to have an idea of the costs and the benefits and therefore whether it's worth doing at all. Any orbital tramway idea is only at that stage at present. Presumably the powers that be at TfGM expect that there is some chance of getting funding over a timescale of a decade or more if the scheme can be justified. This would be a rate of building per year rather less than has been happening on Phase 3.