£30m support package for light rail announced
12 weeks of funding's being provided by government - but is it enough?
A 12-week £30million support package for light rain across England has been announced by the government.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has pledged the money to operators to keep services running over the next few months, to ensure that key routes stay open - for key workers to get to their jobs and anyone to visit a supermarket.
Mr Shapps said, "The best way to stop the spread of the virus and protect the NHS is to stay at home – but protecting key transport services is vital to ensure essential travel can take place.
"It plays a crucial role in getting NHS staff and emergency services to work - and it is only right that we offer operators support during this time of national crisis.
"This package of support will help ensure services continue to operate at this difficult time.”"
The money will go to the Tyne & Wear Metro, Manchester's Metrolink, The NET in Nottingham, the West Midlands Metro and Sheffield's Supertram.
Nottinghamshire MP Darren Henry (Con, Broxtowe) has welcomed the £3.7m going to his local services, Darren Henry MP Broxtowe said: "Importantly, many key workers travel on the tram from Broxtowe to work in places such as the Queen’s Medical Centre. So this is keeping public transport available for those providing our community with the greatest service of all.”
I’m struggling to find words of support about this decision
However there's disappointment from Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burham about the cash - which he says is nowhere near enough, "I have tried to be constructive with the government throughout the recent weeks of the covid crisis, but I’m struggling to find words of support about this decision.
"At the start, we were told to spend what we needed to provide essential services, but now we find out we only have three-quarters of the income Metrolink needs to run at its current reduced services for key workers and essential journeys.
"This is wrong and disappointing. I don’t know where I’m expected to find the shortfall of c£4.3m over a 12 week period from.
"This comes at the same time as nine out of ten of our councils in Greater Manchester have had cuts to their funding grants. On the other hand, the government has bailed out private bus operators and heavy rail.
"I was encouraged by the Prime Minister’s call yesterday morning that we’ll approach the recovery together and then we ended the day with this decision.
"Once this funding ends in early June, we will simply not be able to continue running Metrolink. The public should be under no illusions that mothballing the largest light rail network in the country remains a very real possibility."
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