Executive Cabinet 26 June 2013
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ITEM NO: 9 Report To: EXECUTIVE CABINET Date: 26 June 2013 Executive Member/Reporting Councillor Peter Robinson – Executive Member, Transport Officer: and Land Use Damien Bourke - Head of Strategic Development and Investment, Subject: TAMESIDE TRANSPORTATION UPDATE REPORT Report Summary: To provide Members with information and updates on: 1) High Speed Rail Phase 2; 2) Northern (Rail) Hub and Rail Electrification; 3) Department For Transport Pinch Point Schemes at: Junction 24, M60 Denton Island, ASDA and BT Roundabouts (A635) and Hyde Road (A57) at Reddish Lane 4) Greater Manchester Vélocity 2025 - Cycle City Ambition Grant Recommendations: Members are asked: To give their continued full support for the earliest delivery of High Speed 2 to Manchester Airport and the City Centre; To note progress and updates of the Northern (Rail) Hub and Rail Electrification; Note the details of the Highways Agency pinch point scheme at Denton Island, Junction 24 of the M60; and Note the Tameside successful submission, as part of a wider Greater Manchester bid, to the Department of Transport for the Local Pinch Point schemes at ASDA and BT roundabouts on the A635 Park Parade and the Manchester City Council led initiative to widen the A57 Hyde Road in Gorton Note and receive further feedback once the results of the Greater Manchester Vélocity 2025 - Cycle City Ambition Grant bid are known. Links to Community Strategy: Transport Infrastructure Schemes are linked to promoting: A Prosperous Society, A Safe Environment, and An Attractive Borough. Policy Implications: Transportation is seen to underpin a number of objectives in the Greater Manchester Strategy, the Greater Manchester 3rd Local Transport Plan, and the Tameside Sustainable Community Strategy in promoting economic growth, reduced carbon emissions and a safer environment, through improved transport provision. Financial Implications: The report provides details and progress updates on a number of transportation initiatives that will impact on the (Authorised by Borough Tameside area. Treasurer) Any costs incurred by the Council in supporting the rail electrification works are to be recovered from Network Rail. A full report outlining the details is to be presented to Cabinet in August. Significantly, the Council has recently been successful in securing funding from Department for Transport (DfT) to support two schemes put forward as part of a larger Greater Manchester Scheme Bid. The total costs are estimated at £4.33m with £3.03m funding from DfT and in line with bid requirements £1.30m from locally sourced funding. Confirmation is being sought from Strategic Capital Panel to support the request for £1.3m contribution towards the schemes. As part of the Governments Cycle City Ambition Grant, Tameside has put forward two major initiatives, however no date has been set by DfT for a decision on the bid. Legal Implications: The report sets out a number of ambitious programmes which will in due course be the subject of reports on (Authorised by Borough procurement and programme management to ensure Solicitor) delivered on time and on budget. Risk Management: This paper asks Executives Board Members to note progress on a number of transport related initiatives. There are no identified risk management issues at this stage. Access to Information: Appendix 1 – HS2 route summary plan Appendix 2 – Northern Hub and Rail Electrification schematic electrification plan Appendix 3 - Possible future patterns of service at local stations from Ashton to Greenfield to and from Manchester Appendix 4 - DfT Junction 24 Pinch Point Scheme, Denton The background papers relating to this report can be inspected by contacting the report writer, Nigel Gilmore, Strategic Planning and Transportation Manager: Telephone:0161 342 3920 e-mail: [email protected] 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 This report provides information and updates in respect of five major transport related initiatives as they affect the Tameside. These are: High Speed Rail Phase 2 (HS2); Northern Hub and Rail Electrification schemes; Highways Agency Pinch Point Scheme at Junction 24 of the M60 Denton Island; The Tameside successful submission to the Department of Transport, as part of a Greater Manchester wide bid for Local Pinch Point schemes, for the signalisation of ASDA and BT roundabouts on the A635 Park Parade and the Manchester City Council led initiative to widen the A57 Hyde Road in Gorton; and Greater Manchester Vélocity 2025 - Cycle City Ambition Grant 2.0 HIGH SPEED RAIL (HS2) 2.1 HS2 will be the UK’s new high speed rail network and is being designed and built to resolve impending capacity issues for both passengers and freight on existing routes, particularly the West Coast Main Line (WCML). 2.2 In January 2012 the Government announced its intention to proceed with the first phase of the scheme from London to Birmingham. In January 2013 it published details of phase 2 of the line from Birmingham north to Manchester (via Crewe) and Leeds (via the East Midlands and Sheffield). There will be no decision on a Heathrow spur until after the Davies Commission on aviation capacity reports in 2015. 2.1 In January 2013, the Government announced its preferred route options from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester. In approaching Greater Manchester, the line runs parallel to the M56 in Cheshire, running into an airport interchange station close to the airport and M56 motorway giving the southern area of conurbation and beyond easy access to the network. 2.2 From the airport, the route would continue north-east descending into tunnel close to Junction 5 of the M56 for 7.5 miles, resurfacing north of Longsight alongside the existing railway into a series of new platforms immediately north of Manchester Piccadilly station. As well as serving a network of routes across northern England and inter-city services to the Midlands, Scotland and elsewhere, Manchester Piccadilly also links in with Metrolink to Bury, Altrincham, Eccles, Salford Quays, Droylsden and in late 2013, Ashton. 2.3 The legislative timetable for the project is likely to be: A consultation on phase 2 later in 2013 with a final decision announced before the end of 2014; The Bill for phase 2 will not be introduced before the 2015 General Election; The Bill for phase 1, due to be introduced into Parliament late in 2013, is unlikely to pass through Parliament before the next election 2.3 For information a route summary plan is attached at Appendix 1. 2.4 Potential rail services may include: 3 trains an hour from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly. The journey times from Manchester and the Airport to London will be around 68 and 59 minutes respectively and 2 trains per hour from Manchester Piccadilly to central Birmingham. The journey times from Manchester and the Airport to Birmingham will be around 41 and 32 minutes respectively. 2.5 For information regional and local rail connectivity including Metrolink is shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1: Rail and Metrolink Connectivity With HS21 2.6 HS2 Ltd, the DfT company responsible for developing and promoting the UK’s new high speed rail network, states that “HS2 will widen opportunities for millions of people linking our big cities with London and with each other… that will support regional job creation.” This includes: Phase Two construction (Leeds and Manchester): 10,000 Operation and maintenance (Leeds and Manchester): 1,400 Stations supported employment (Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport): 30,000 Station supported housing (Manchester): 3,000 2.7 HS2 Ltd also notes that “improved connectivity will unlock the enormous potential and opportunities that Manchester has to offer – making it an attractive place to locate and do business, with people able to live here and work in Birmingham or London.” 2.8 The Government’s initial preferred option for this route is dictated by its desire to deliver the benefits of an interchange station adjacent to Manchester Airport and the City Centre station at Piccadilly. Full details of the initiative can be found at: High Speed 2. 2.9 Members are asked to give their full support to the whole HS2 initiative. 3.0 THE NORTHERN HUB AND RAIL ELECTRIFICATION 3.1 The Northern Hub supported by a series of rail electrification initiatives are enabling projects, which will fundamentally improve the capacity of Manchester’s rail network as part of a series of infrastructure improvements to speed rail traffic across the North. East-west routes across Manchester have long created a bottleneck in this regard. These projects 1 Figure taken form “Investing in Britain’s Future Phase Two: The route to Leeds, Manchester and beyond have received widespread support from businesses, local government and other organisations across the North and has been a major consideration in Government’s decision‐making. 3.2 The delivery outputs for the projects have been announced by Government over a period of time and include: Electrification of the Lancashire Triangle incorporating:- o Liverpool to Manchester via Chat Moss; o Liverpool to Wigan; o Preston to Blackpool North; and o Manchester to Preston via Bolton. The new Ordsall Chord (including electrification); Trans‐Pennine electrification; Speed/ capacity improvements on key Northern Inter‐City corridors. Ten new four car electric trains are to be used on the Manchester to Scotland route following the electrification of the line between Manchester and the West Coast Main Line south of Wigan, allowing existing diesel rolling stock to be redeployed to increase capacity into Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle; More track capacity between Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations and two new platforms at Piccadilly; An extra platform at Manchester Airport allowing longer trains from across the north to access the station; and Extra capacity on the route from Liverpool to Manchester (at Huyton) 3.3 A schematic electrification plan is appended at Appendix 2. 3.4 For routes through Tameside electrification will take place on the following links: Manchester Victoria – Ashton – Stalybridge – Mossley - Leeds Stockport - Reddish – Denton - Guide Bridge.