Park and Ride on new Metrolink line

Station car park

Transport bosses have announced plans to create two large Park & Ride sites on the new Metrolink line to Rochdale and Oldham.

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) will build the car parks at Hollinwood and Derker Metrolink stops as part of a £575 million expansion of the network, which was approved earlier this year.

Transport bosses have appointed MPact-Thales to build the new lines to Rochdale, Oldham, Droylsden in Tameside and Chorlton in South Manchester. Construction work is due to start early next year.

Improvements will also be made to the parking at other stops on the Rochdale and Oldham, taking the total number of spaces to more than 250.

Councillor Richard Knowles, Chair of GMPTA’s Development and Operations Committee, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for people to use the new Metrolink services, and one way of achieving this is by providing extra parking.

Proposals for extra Park and Ride sites on the Rochdale and Oldham Metrolink line have also been included in the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) package. More than 300 additional spaces would be provided at Rochdale train station.

The Metrolink network would also be extended to Ashton-under-Lyne, East Didsbury, Manchester Airport, and Oldham and Rochdale town centres. And funding has been earmarked to build a new line to Trafford Park and the Trafford Centre.

The TIF package of up to £3 billion would be paid for using government money and a loan supported by the introduction of a  congestion charge.

A formal consultation on the proposals is currently taking place and a referendum will be held on 11 December.