News Archive

6th January 2004
The public enquiry into Merseytram will start on Tuesday 20 April 2004. The enquiry will be held in Liverpool University's Foresight Centre, and is expected to last about one month.

January 2004
Changes have been made to the short-list of consortia bidding to design, build and operate Merseytram:
The Mitsubishi/MTR and Serco/Nedrail consortia have joined forces to form a single bid, which has been tipped as the strongest contender.
Transdev have withdrawn their bid, citing resource problems.
It is hoped that the preferred bidders will be announced in February.

16th October 2003
The Transport and Works Act Application has now been published on Merseytram's web site. It includes detailed plans and descriptions of all the works required to construct the system.
Paper copies of the application documents can be viewed at various locations in the area or they can be purchased from Merseytram's solicitors - The cost of a complete set is £500!

9th October 2003
The Government has warned that no additional funding will be made available if Merseytram goes over budget.

According to a report in The Times, funding has been refused for a system linking Gosport and Portsmouth after the estimated cost increased by £100 million, and plans for tram systems in Leeds and Newcastle and for extensions in Birmingham have been put on hold. As far as I am aware, the Government has not officially announced this (yet).

The Labour Government's ten year transport plan, published in 2000, promised to build up to 25 new tram lines by 2010. A commitment to double the number of tram passengers has been dropped.