Buy new trains now to ease overcrowding, say bosses

TRANSPORT chiefs have urged the government to order new trains in a bid to ease overcrowding in Manchester.

They have written to Transport Secretary Lord Adonis urging him to buy more rolling stock in the wake of his announcement that the north west will be transformed into an electrified network.

Lord Adonis earlier told MPs he would ease rush-hour overcrowding with 15-year-old cast-offs from London’s Thameslink line. But now members of Greater Manchester’s Integrated Transport Authority have written asking him to buy diesel trains now rather than wait for the electrification.

Work on the lines from Manchester to Liverpool and between Manchester and Bolton, Preston and Blackpool will not be completed until 2016.

Coun Keith Whitmore, GMITA chairman, said: “Rail services in Greater Manchester have experienced 50 per cent growth in the past decade, but this has not been matched with the right level of investment.

“The government’s announcement that it will be investing in the electrification of several rail lines in our area shows a long-term commitment to address that point and is a very welcome step in the right direction.”

“We have been in discussions with the Department for Transport about overcrowding and they are well aware of the capacity issues passengers face and are committed to delivering 1,300 extra carriages nationally by 2014.”

The move will slash journey times, with Manchester to Liverpool cut from 45 minutes to just 30 minutes.


Source: manchestereveningnews.co.uk