COMMUTERS will enjoy more space on Manchester trains as they travel to work over the next few years.

Scores of extra new carriages could be introduced to suburban, regional and national services running through and around the city in a bid to tackle overcrowding and meet growing demand.

The Department for Transport has released preliminary details of plans to increase capacity on the country's railways by 1,300 carriages by 2014. Each carriage will cost about £1m.

Manchester is one of four cities outside London identified as urgently needing more carriages for its squashed passengers.

The plans include:

Between 40 and 70 more carriages at peak times on suburban routes - including Manchester Airport, Stockport, Reddish North, Urmston and Salford Crescent.

Up to 106 new carriages on the 53 Pendolino trains on the North West Main Line.

A direct intercity service on the Liverpool to Leeds Transpennine service through Manchester, with more carriages.

The report follows last month's White Paper on rail transport, adding detail to its proposals.

A spokesman for the Department of Transport said: "We have done the maths and we estimate Manchester needs at least 40 and possibly as many as 70 new train carriages on suburban and local routes.

"More and more people are travelling by rail. Demand is growing all over but particularly in Manchester."

More than 17,000 people use Manchester trains for their daily commute to work. Overcrowding is a major problem.

The 8.14am from Humphrey Park, Urmston, to Oxford Road, Manchester was recently labelled a `sardine special'.

The 15-minute trip on Northern Rail was operating 75 per cent above capacity.

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