GM Prospectus for Rail

[Class 170101]

There is another angle to this, which will only be apparent to people who know Heywood (I used to work there) - what is the demand for services to Manchester? The place is a little bit parochial, to the extent that going to Rochdale was often seen as a big adventure, and going to Manchester is unimaginable for some. The looks I got when I said I was going on holiday to Japan would have been no more amazed if I said I was going to Mars. My sister worked there for a time too, and reported similar attitudes. Yes, it's only anecdotal but...

You could find that in many towns though.

Where I live the major city is London some of my friends have never been.

 

[LOL The Irony]

I feel like this project will leave places outside of Greater Manchester with all of the cons and little to no pros.

 

[dewsnapsliding]

There is a map on page 13 of the Prospectus which shows potential new stations across Greater Manchester. I thought it might be useful to put that map into text form in this thread for reference. Headings are as per the map

...

Potential new station

Dewsnap

It's about damned time.
Dukinfield, in particular that area is ripe for a commuter service into central Manchester which is completely unserved. I commuted into central Manchester from that area and drove because public transport was so circuitous - over 1 hour by bus for 8 miles, or walk 20 mins to Hyde North and then wait for the 1 or 2 per hour train taking 25 mins or so.

I am informed that the extension of the metrolink between Ashton and Stalybridge is to serve Tameside hospital to provide alternative transport options.

Agree it would make no sense for direct services to Manchester from Stalybridge compared to the time the train takes, the same is true from Ashton of course.

 

[Bletchleyite]

You could find that in many towns though.

Where I live the major city is London some of my friends have never been.

Yep, it baffles me that there are people living in MK and Bletchley who have never been to London - but there are.

Quite a number of kids who we take there on Scout London trips have never been before, and some of them have never been on a train before either.