Extra carriages on Oldham loop 'too little, too late'

Mike Keegan

October 14, 2009

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A MOVE to draft in extra carriages on a 'nightmare' train line has been branded 'too little too late'.

Rush hour services from Rochdale to the city centre have been notoriously overcrowded for many years. But since the closure earlier this month of the Oldham loop line in preparation for a Metrolink route many commuters have been unable to force their way onto the already-full trains.

Now, the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority have stepped in.

They have hired 'five or six' carriages sidelined from the closed line to be added onto the Rochdale route. That equates to around one extra carriage per service.

The authority's chairman, Keith Whitmore, says the move will have a positive effect.

Shame

He hopes it will 'shame the government into action' and has hit out at operator Northern Rail for their lack of support.

But one commuter says the arrival of the new carriages, set to be added on Monday, is not enough.

Scott Goulding, 38, has travelled on the line to work for 12 years. The Rochdale law worker believes that despite the additions the misery will continue.

He said: "It's too little too late. This line has always been overcrowded like many across Greater Manchester. But since the closure of the Oldham line I'd say the number of passengers has doubled. And six carriages is not double what they have at the moment.

"It will help, but there will still be people who are unable to get on."

Mr Goulding also hit out at transport bosses for allowing the situation to happen.

Planning

"There should have been forward planning for when the Oldham line closed," he said.

"There wasn't and now they all seem to be pointing the finger at each other and nobody is doing anything."

Councillor Whitmore did not want to reveal how much the additional carriages, which will be funded by taxpayers' money, will cost.

He said: "I was not prepared to stand by and watch this daily misery continue."

Talks will continue with Northern Rail and the Department for Transport over help paying for the extra space.

Northern Rail says it has not acted because of funding issues.

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JAM65 (14/10/2009 at 13:23)

As said in the srticle, it really does begger believe that there was no forward planning, listening to passengers on the train, people are driving from Shaw to Rochdale to catch the train as the bus service is so appalling. I had assumed that Metrolink would have arranged some sort of replacement bus service at least, but no people seem to be having to rearrange their working day to be able to get to and from work.

It didn't happen as a complete surprise and it shouldn't have been beyond the wit of those in charge to think more people would be using the other half of the 'Oldham Loop. Extra trains would have been an obvious answer with 6 years to plan it shouldn't have been too hard.

wayfarer, Rochdale (14/10/2009 at 13:32)

This may be too little and too late, but thank goodness that GMITA has at last woken up to its responsibilities!

GMPTE's treatment of commuters displaced from the Oldham loop by the Metrolink conversion has been despicable when compared with what they did for Bury and Altrincham commuters when those line were converted almost 20 years ago. GMPTE's officers have shown little or no understanding of the difficult road conditions that face commuters from Shaw and Milnrow to Manchester. Consequently, First's replacement "express" buses are taking just as long as the standard 182 bus services they shadow.

It is absolutely clear that the Shaw to Rochdale line should have been retained as heavy rail service as the conversion progressed. In fact it was a condition of acceptance of the conversion, imposed by John Prescott, that the work to convert the Oldham loop should be staged, so that complete closure would be avoided. GMPTE has managed to wriggle out of that commitment on financial grounds. As ever, Metrolink is being introduced on the cheap.

Ron, Gorton (14/10/2009 at 15:34)

A mate in town got a brochure from GMPTE outlining plans for teh city centre such as more bus lanes and closing roads off to 'through traffic'. One assumed that 'through traffic' meant all traffic but it just means cars.

There was also a different leaflet which you could complete and post back as part of the 'consultaion'. The bit you had to write in was basically very small boxes that would take about four words and not worthe filling in unless the reader has a magnifying glass. He didn't bother as there was no space nor the option wo write it on a bit of A4.

What will happen is they will say that nobdy wrote anything to oppose it so 'Manchester people want the road closures'. It was a ten page full colour brochure and yet each box was to air you view was 2cm x 2cm.

An absolute joke.

Not a Number, just down the road (14/10/2009 at 16:23)

As ever, GMPTE / ITA's treatment of its own population has been disgraceful.

You would think the guys making the final decision would never have to face the voters, but perhaps its that they never have to face the voters affected.

Even as a temporary measure more parking at stations still in service would have assisted - and why the line "had" to be closed throughout at one hit beggars belief - "to make it cheaper for the contractors to convert" couldn't have anything to do with it could it?? - and pass the knock on cost and inconvenience on to the users and residents of Oldham, Shaw, New Hay and Milnrow who's costs and inconvenience don't show on the Public balance sheet.

The line should never have shut - it should have been modernised and proper park and ride provided - that would have cost far less than the tram fiasco and provided something of value throughout and in the long term.

Now that it has shut the potential to restructure the conversion and still run heavy rail as as far as Oldham - or even Royton where there are acres of potential park and ride just needing a scrape with a dozer and some blacktop should still not be out of the reckoning.

That way Victoria to Central Park, and Rochdale to Oldham, could still be a working site - but Oldham would still have some semblance of a service.

Ooooh! adventurous thinking - can't be having any of that!

Ms B, Manchester (14/10/2009 at 16:39)

Isn't this what everyone who used the Shaw/Manchester route predicted. The arrogance and stupidity of Oldham Council and its cohorts knows no bounds. They closed the loop-line despite commuters protesting and predicting what would happen, did they listen, did they hell.

There is probably not one councillor who ever travelled on the train, they will be sat in their cars causing more congestion and then have the bloody cheek to say they hope that train users from Shaw will not revert to their cars to travel to their jobs in the city.

Total and utter arrogance to a man.

MPs gravy train, UK (14/10/2009 at 16:44)

It wasn't rocket science was it. Where did the loop line trains go? I bet Northern Rail still has them.

Sir Hugo White-Wong, Manchester (14/10/2009 at 16:54)

What do people expect from the GMPTE muppets that are paid a fortune to make a complete cock up of our transport system.

Ms B, Manchester (14/10/2009 at 17:11)

What did the arrogant ignorant councillors at Oldham Council and their cohorts think would happen when they drove a coach and horses through the wishes of the travelling public and closed the Oldham Loop? Did they really think that people who had been used to travelling to Manchester in less than thirty minutes use the buses, not only that, state that the journey would be around forty minutes. You can tell how often these losers use public transport. Also, they stated that they hoped people wouldn't resort to using their cars to travel to their work. What planet are these people on?
It was ill thought out from the start, and the line should have been closed in stages still enabling the trains to run from Shaw to Manchester using the loop via Rochdale.

Would these know-alls listen, would they hell, no "Plan B" no nothing only one huge mess.

What is happening now is that people are using their cars fom Shaw, Milnrow and Newhey to travel to Rochdale to travel to Manchester.

Cheyenne, Rochdale (14/10/2009 at 17:23)

Come on Rochdale Council, your slipping. People driving from shaw to Rochdale to catch a train to the city. Where are the pay and display machines along the High Level and Station frontage?.

Or had nobody thought of that either

njlawley, Leigh (14/10/2009 at 20:26)

I would imagine it would not be five or six carriages, but five or six twin-car units, given this is how most of the trains operate in. So, rather than having one twin-car unit running the service, there will be two twin-car units coupled together. This isn't an old Intercity train or a steam train, where the engine cars were separate to the carriages!

Acid, Chadderton (14/10/2009 at 21:43)

"Councillor Whitmore did not want to reveal how much the additional carriages, which will be funded by taxpayers' money, will cost."

They shouldn't COST anything. They were standing idle from the Loop closure. Do they think commuters are as moronic as councillors?

Bobby the builder (14/10/2009 at 22:14)

Current Rochdale MP Paul Rowen and his commuting spin doctor are playing politics with this farce.

As I've said before- he can't have it both ways- he took the "tram shilling" and the overseas "fact finding" jollies that came with becoming the chairman of the Parliamentary Light Rail Group.

Now he has the bare faced cheek to appear concerned about the sardine-like commuters that pay taxes to pay his bloated wage and expenses.

The loss of the loop line was tantamount to blackmail. We had to accept the tram or completely lose the line.

Weak politicians and their officer and civil engineering buddies simply don't listen or understand the basics of common sense. The Metrolink project is worth £200,000,000 to them. The price we will all have to pay is substandard service, delays, inconvenience and much higher fares for something few people actually wanted.

These idiots couldn't run a bath.

Anthony Cutt (14/10/2009 at 23:41)

I sincerely hope no-one is falling for the GMPTE's trick of trying to blame Northern Rail for this? Every single decision making employee of 'gimptee' should resign in disgrace. Metrolink is a sham & closing heavy rail lines is a crime.

Michael Moore (15/10/2009 at 05:48)

Trains throughout Manchester are overcrowded for much of the day yet they can only run if a subsidy is paid to Northern or Trans Pennine Express by GMPTE.
Why is this?
Are fares so far below an economic level or are expenses so high?
Track access charges have to be paid to Network Rail ( a bit like a car licence) but the lines have hardly improved in the last thirty years.
Perhaps the planners need to sit down start thinking what is needed rather than what can be made out of any developments.

just joan, Manchester (15/10/2009 at 09:09)

Dear Sirs,

What joy it was this morning to see the little shed train back on the most overcrowded slot in the morning rush hour.

This morning was the most appalling yet, not only have the number getting the 7:20 from Greenfield to Manchester increased by 50% since the closer of the Oldham Loop, but you have put on the little shed train that should have been retired 30 years ago. I managed to get the last seat on the train this morning and people were standing up from Greenfield.

We all look at each other and said what about the poor people waiting at Ashton, but we should not have worried about them you had a cunning plan. That it you did not stop at Ashton, too bad for all the people who would have a 45 minute wait for the next train and be late for work. That right what do you care!!!

We got to Stalybridge the guard told the people who needed Ashton to get off the train. This a the same time as the station announcement was going out that the train was stopping at Ashton, so the guard again had to tell people to get off. The train did stop at Aston but did not open the doors another cunning plan no bout.

When will you lot wake up and put on a longer train on this service we have all had enough and are fed up with being treated like cattle when we are paying through the nose for a service we are not getting.

Fed up Commuter.

Copy of email sent to Northenrail

Jay B, oldham (15/10/2009 at 11:04)

why are there not twice as many services now on the mills hill and greenfield lines to cope with the extra passengers from the lost oldham line?
it really is the most stupidest idea that gmpta and oldham council have ever done.
it was a perfectly good working line that only needed a few thousand spent on some minor modernisation of facilities and some more trains and services.
instead we get two years of misery and oldham officially off the map for public transport. well the few useless buses that go arent any good if the arrive at all. you can never rely on them.

Roger Turning the Holme Valley Blue (15/10/2009 at 12:04)

Converting the loop was always a stupid idea. This fascination with Metrolink is so misguided it's untrue. Oldham off the national rail network and replaced with a tram stop and that's improvement? I don't think so.

Uwe Rosler (15/10/2009 at 15:28)

Councillor Whitmore said: "I was not prepared to stand by and watch this daily misery continue."

LOL....

Trudy, Bolton (15/10/2009 at 16:10)

Why is the council funding the rolling stock when Norther Rail take the profits? Should run the trains in Manchester by Manchester Council and take the profits ourselves.

Ms B, Manchester (15/10/2009 at 17:38)

Isn't it wonderful, all the comments on here are in agreement that the Oldham Loop should have been retained and upgraded. The cost would have been far less and the inconvience minimal.

The only reason it would appear is that a lot of these moronic councillors have had a good few back-handers. Not the kind I would like to give them though!!

Jay B, oldham (16/10/2009 at 09:00)

as every single council tax payer in the oldham and rochdale area is paying for this pointless conversion, shouldn't we be entitled to free travel once the metrolink is up and running?
that or a share of the profits made by stagecoach who'll be running the services.
fairs fair! we're funding it! surely we should benefit from our investment?

3Amp (16/10/2009 at 12:39)

Just Joan,

A pretty standard letter sent to Northern, then? You must have spent a while thinking up the humourous points of it to try and catch people's attention, and thank you for sharing it with us all.

It just makes it a pity to have to point out to you, then, that it was utterly pointless and sent to the wrong people.

If you had researched the matter first instead of firing out a letter of complaint to Northern you realise a few things.

1. Barely any of the trains that operate in Manchester (or even the rest of the UK) operate at a commercial profit, even the full ones. When you look at the overheads of running a service you'll understand why.

2. Northern isn't permitted to get any additional rolling stock from anywhere, that was the agreement that the DfT and GMPTE handed to it when it took over the franchise. This includes the 5 units freed up by the closure of the loop. If Northern wants them then it needs to ask the GMPTE and DfT for them.

3. Cllr Whitmore, as such a transport savvy person should know better than to pass the buck. He already knows full well the costs of operating a railway and that without the subsidies then most of them wouldn't actually be open anymore, so to try and blame anyone but his own department is underhand at best and downright misleading.

Was railway privatisation a bad thing? Maybe, but here isn't the place to get into the facts, figures and details of before and after BR.

The point is this, though. The railway is still funded heavily by subsidy and run by a business. To ask a business to simply throw millions at a couple of railway lines that need the subsidies to stay open is optimistic at best.

Our elected representatives and their departments got us into this mess, it is they who ought to be held accountable.

Horatio Dogsbody, Flixton (17/10/2009 at 10:57)

When the 'conversion' of the Oldham Loop into a tramway takes place could the powers that be make sure that the newly install masts and overhead power lines are strong enough to be run at 25kV and leave the railway signalling in place, to make it easier to convert this white elephant back into a real railway in the future!

In the next couple of years 25kV electrification is planned to reach Victoria from the west, along the Stephenson's Rocket line from Liverpool, permitting some diesels to be replaced by modern electric units. The authorities should be looking beyond that, to the east, upgrading the lines on the other side of the station to take modern trains, not abandoning them to a cheap-skate tramway.

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