Grimsby town
Member
- Joined
- 4 Apr 2011
- Messages
- 408
It was the suggestion that seemed to imply Parrs Wood was only considered in relation to bus service provision from there to Stockport, but besides the bus routes to Manchester and to Cheadle from there that I mentioned in my earlier posting, it is also well placed to serve East Didsbury railway station and East Didsbury Metrolink station.
Nope I mean onwards to places like Bredbury, Denton, Marple etc. I wouldn't say the rail connections and Manchester City Centre bus connections are too relevant because there's not many conceivable journeys that people would use the tram for. The important connections are places like Cheadle and other suburban areas which is where Stockport has a lot more options.
By the time a Metrolink line reaches Stockport its very likely Greater Manchester will have integrated tram and train fares and there will be no price difference. People who are price conscious will take the 192 than Metrolink because its likely to be cheaper (assuming London fare structures). Diversionary routes do not make a meaningful difference to business cases. Didsbury - Stockport does have a decent business case but I am not convinced it will be at the top of TfGM list. Its likely to be £300m for a single tram service 5tph.
Top of the list will probably be extending the airport line to Manchester Airport terminal 2, followed by Bury - Heywood - Rochdale tram train. If the central government wants to provide cash to free up heavy rail capacity at Piccadilly then Glossop and Rose Hill would take priority.
Intetgrated pricing doesn't necessarily mean that the price of a mode will be the same. Assuming a zonal price structure, travelling from Stockport to e.g. Media City will always be more expensive travelling through the city centre, rather than an orbital route, will always be more expensive as it travels through more zones. Without adding complexity to the fare system, its not really possible to change that.
Diversionary routes don't do much for the economic case but they certainly strengthen the strategic case particularly when we want a resilient transport network. The Stockport corridor is a huge point of failure currently. I wrote part of a strategic case for this line earlier on in my career.
Priority wise, It seems fairly high up Burnham's list. Tram-train doesn't sound like it's going brilliantly to me currently. Even if it does happen, and I hope it does, Oldham-Heywood is a proof of concept so will need a few years operating before further systems are implemented. I think Glossop and Rose Hill are years off. Manchester Airport T2 might happen first but its only short. I think Stockport will be done before 2030.
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