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Metrolink Updates

9M views 58K replies 802 participants last post by  Ashtonian 
#1 ·
Seeing as the last thread seems to have gone here is another...

The following shows the madness of spending money on roads to relief congestion instead of trams...

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/s/166/166225_bumper_business_chokes_the_roads.html

Bumper business chokes the roads
Yakub Qureshi


JAMS: early morning traffic on the A57TAMESIDE has the biggest traffic growth in the country, figures reveal today.

A congestion blacklist published by the Department of Transport showed there were 36 per cent more cars and lorries on Tameside roads than in 1997 - the biggest increase in England.

Two other Greater Manchester areas, Oldham, in second place with 32.4 per cent, and Bury, 18 per cent, also recorded some of the sharpest rises in congestion. Tameside, Oldham and Bury were all above the national increase of 11 per cent.

Transport groups said the findings confirmed their worst fears about congestion in the region and blamed the delay of the Metrolink extension for increasing traffic jams.

Traffic bosses said they believed the bulk of the increase was due to the addition of the M60 Denton to Middleton extension, which had brought more traffic to area.

Coun Alan Whitehead, Tameside's executive member for technical services, said: "When there are good connections more people will want to use them. Regeneration has seen a lot firms moving into Tameside.

"People want to come to the great workshops of Manchester, and developments in places like Glossop, High Peak and Saddleworth means there will be additional traffic coming through Tameside."

Congestion

He believed the planned Metrolink extension, which was promised in the government's election manifesto, would help ease congestion.

Andrew Shaw, co-ordinator of Friends of the Earth Oldham, said: "There has definitely been an increase of traffic. The M60 has brought an associated increase in traffic throughout the borough and people are travelling more between their homes and work.

"The government is throwing a lot of money at the road network at the same time that it has reneged on its promise for the new Metrolink to Oldham and Tameside."

The Liberal Democrats, who requested the information, which dates from when Labour came into government, said motorists should be charged for driving into urban areas.

Tom Brake MP, the party's transport spokesman, claimed London-style congestion fees would cut traffic and fund better public transport.

He said: "John Prescott infamously remarked that if the government did not reduce road traffic it would have failed. These figures are the clearest indicator that it has failed."
 
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#19,721 ·
I thought it had always had half a dozen editions with advertising sold seperatly for the different distribution areas. Theres also a big difference between the 'city' edition and the edition sold elsewhere and the free version has minor differences from the City version being printed a few hours earlier.
No problem with local advertising, watcher, or stop press items in later editions, as long as it covers the whole area. This is what is worrying me, though, seems to indicate a major split coming between N & S :-



:cheers:
 
#19,725 ·
Well if you look at their coverage theres more of an east-west split, all their syndicated weeklys are east of a line north-south through the city centre, theyve got practically no reporters in Wigan, Bolton, Bury, Salford
I've no problem with the syndicated weeklies, watcher, my concern is that there will not in future be a daily paper that covers all Gt Mcr, or whatever it covers now. For instance, items concerning Metrolink developments in say, Wythenshawe will probably not be covered in the North Manchester edition, and Rochdale vice versa not in the South, etc.

:cheers:
 
#19,727 ·
Seems to be a problem with the signal controlling the exit from the SML just before the diveunder. Stuck at red for 5-10 mins, drivers just done some troubleshooting with control but no joy. 2 trams have gone towards Trafford Bar on the Altrincham line while we've been here, which the driver is now reporting to control in a slightly annoyed voice... he's doing passenger announcements though so no complaints there. Just crept closer to the signal, still no luck! Oh yay control have managed to somehow make it go green and we're off :)

This driver is very good with the announcements actually...
 
#19,728 · (Edited)
Seems to be a problem with the signal controlling the exit from the SML just before the diveunder. Stuck at red for 5-10 mins, drivers just done some troubleshooting with control but no joy. 2 trams have gone towards Trafford Bar on the Altrincham line while we've been here, which the driver is now reporting to control in a slightly annoyed voice... he's doing passenger announcements though so no complaints there. Just crept closer to the signal, still no luck! Oh yay control have managed to somehow make it go green and we're off :)

This driver is very good with the announcements actually...
If it's 375 signal that you're talking about, Martin, it's approach released, so he may just not have got close enough to put in the request.
Incidentally, that signal is under the control of the 'interim solution' (pending TMS's debut) installed to get the junction working, and the staff at the control centre have no means of clearing it from there.
 
#19,731 ·
Not sure if it has already been mentioned, but the Traveline website now shows the timetable for the service to Derker and Shaw (under MET3 on the timetable page).

Official journey times now are:
*Shaw-Oldham Mumps: 8 mins
*Shaw-Victoria: 27 mins to Victoria/28 mins to Shaw
*Oldham Mumps-Victoria: 19 mins to Victoria/20 mins to Mumps
*Shaw-Market Street: 30 mins to Market St/31 mins to Shaw
*Oldham Mumps-Market Street: 22 mins to Market St/23 mins to Mumps
*Shaw-St Werburgh's Road: 48 mins

http://traveline-northwest.co.uk/timetableplanner/start.do
 
#19,732 ·
Not sure if it has already been mentioned, but the Traveline website now shows the timetable for the service to Derker and Shaw (under MET3 on the timetable page).

Official journey times now are:
*Shaw-Oldham Mumps: 8 mins
*Shaw-Victoria: 27 mins to Victoria/28 mins to Shaw
*Oldham Mumps-Victoria: 19 mins to Victoria/20 mins to Mumps
*Shaw-Market Street: 30 mins to Market St/31 mins to Shaw
*Oldham Mumps-Market Street: 22 mins to Market St/23 mins to Mumps
*Shaw-St Werburgh's Road: 48 mins

http://traveline-northwest.co.uk/timetableplanner/start.do
It was supposed to go up on 3rd Jan but I forgot to check up on Thursday.
 
#19,737 ·
Don't know if anyone has been watching CITV's Old Skool Weekend this weekend. They've just been showing an episode of Sooty & Co from 1993 with them taking a ride on the Metrolink from Deansgate-Castlefield (or G-Mex as it would have been back then)
I just happened to be watching it when I read your message! (Hey I'm an early 90s child!)

Doesn't the T68 used look lovely and shiny-new!
 
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