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The Bolton West MP Ruth Kelly is delighted with the new tram network

Transport Minister Ruth Kelly has given final approval for a £575m expansion of the Greater Manchester tram network which will enable rail passengers from the Bolton area to link seamlessly into county-wide travel.

The new Metrolink lines will run to Oldham and Rochdale, Droylsden in Tameside and Chorlton in South Manchester.

The project is being funded by local authorities in Greater Manchester and the Department for Transport.

Rail passengers from Bolton will be able to swop over at any of the mainline inter-change stations in Manchester. Passengers on the existing Metrolink from Bury living in Radcliffe will join the new network immediately.

Reader Poll Should the Metrolink system be extended to cover Bolton? Yes 85.1% No 14.9%

Lord Peter Smith, Leader of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA), said: "Public transport will have a huge part to play in the region's continuing economic success, and I'm delighted we've now been given the go-ahead to build three new Metrolink lines.

"The Metrolink expansion has received widespread support from politicians, businesses and local communities across Greater Manchester. Without their backing, we wouldn't be in this position today.

"We'll be able to extend the network even further if the bid to the government's Transport Innovation Fund is successful. I hope these new Metrolink lines will be just the start of a major investment in our public transport network."

Sir Richard Leese, Deputy Leader of AGMA and Leader of Manchester City Council, said: "We welcome this good news. This is an important milestone but it is just the start. We need further funding to secure the transport infrastructure required to bring significant economic benefits to the city. We look forward to receiving the Government's decision on our Transport Innovation Fund bid which will generate more investment and boost the region's economy."

How the new county-wide network will look

Michael Renshaw, Interim Service Delivery Director at Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE), said: "We're already carrying out initial surveys along the routes, and we've selected M-Pact Thales as our preferred bidder for the expansion.

"Today's announcement means we can now complete our negotiations with the consortium and hopefully sign a contract within the next few weeks. We'll be able to provide more details about the timescales for the project once we've got a construction team in place."

The new Metrolink lines will cover nearly 20 miles, almost doubling the size of the network. They are expected to take five million car journeys off local roads every year, and to increase the number of trips passengers make each day from 55,000 to more than 90,000.

The M-Pact Thales consortium is made up of Thales UK, Laing O'Rourke and GrantRail. It has been selected as the preferred bidder for a contract to design, build and maintain the new Metrolink lines.

The consortium will also build a new quarter of a mile extension to Media City:UK in Salford Quays if the project is approved by the government.

More lines into Oldham and Rochdale town centres, as well as to Ashton-under-Lyne, East Didsbury, Manchester Airport and the Trafford Centre, could also be built if the bid to the government's Transport Innovation Fund is successful.

3:02pm Friday 16th May 2008

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