Merseytram was a proposed tramway for Liverpool and surrounding districts of Merseyside, England. A tram, tramcar, trolley, trolley car, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a Train Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary Merseyside is a Metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1365900 England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Originally proposed in 2001 - forming part of the Merseyside Local Transport Plan - it called for three lines, connecting outlying suburbs of the city with the city centre. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.
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History
The project was given the go-ahead by Alistair Darling in December 2002. Alistair Maclean Darling (born 28 November 1953 is a British Politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer since 28 June 2007 See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. After extensive public consultation, the contract to build the first two lines was initially awarded in late 2004, however, problems with the tender bid with regards to best value forced the cancellation of the contract, and the reopening of the tender process. Public consultation, or simply consultation, is a regulatory process by which the public's input on matters affecting them is sought "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " In April 2005, the M-Pact consortium was named as the preferred bidder. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
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Budget for the first stage of the project was set at £225 million, with the Government providing £170 million of the cost. The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency Her Majesty's Government, or when the monarch is male His Majesty's Government, is the title used by the Government of the United Kingdom, based at However, by 2005, rising costs had led to a new requirement of £238 million against a cost of £325m. The Government had refused any additions to the initial amount, and asked the two councils who would be supporting Line One - Liverpool City Council and Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council - to make an agreement not to seek additional funding from the Government in the event that the project ran over-budget. See City of Liverpool for other meanings Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is a Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. Although some attempts to meet this request were made, Transport Minister Derek Twigg felt that the assurances of the two councils that any shortfall would be met by Merseytravel and a £24 million contingency fund were insufficient, and announced the cancellation of the scheme on November 29, 2005. John Derek Twigg (born 9 July 1959, Widnes) is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. The Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive ( MPTE, or Merseytravel, as it is branded is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. However, Merseytram are planning to take legal action against the government and this may result in the scheme still going ahead. Although not completely stopped in its tracks, Merseytram is considered one of the major victims of the so-called "Darling Axe" - referring to the controversial axing of other major Light Rail schemes in Britain by the then Transport Secretary Alastair Darling. For specific light rail systems many of which use the words "light rail" as part of their name see List of light-rail transit systems. Alistair Maclean Darling (born 28 November 1953 is a British Politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer since 28 June 2007
Plans called for it to use Bombardier Transportation's Flexity Swift trams. Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Bombardier group The Flexity Swift Tram is a light-rail vehicle manufactured by Bombardier Transportation.
The tram network had formed part of a larger regeneration project in the areas in which it was intended to run, related to Liverpool's award of European Capital of Culture in 2008. Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one Calendar year during which it is given a chance to showcase its 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common
At the beginning of 2008, fresh hopes of the Tram project resurfacing were raised. Keolis who would have been operating the trams originally, confirmed they are still on board and in ongoing talks with Merseytravel.
Future
Merseytram was placed as a priority project within MerseyTravel's transport plan for 2006-2011, and as alignments have been preserved within all current and approved projects along the Line 1 route, it is likely the project will go ahead as planned before the rights to construction end in February 2010. On 18th April 2008 it was announced that a new bid for funds had been requested by the Department for Transport, who now seemed considerably keener on the idea of Trams on Merseyside. [1] High hopes that the long awaited project was back on track were raised even further with another announcement a few days later, that the new business case for Line 1 was to be submitted to the DfT in the second half of 2008.
Planned services
City Centre Loop
The hub of the Merseytram system would have been a loop around Liverpool city centre. Designed to be constructed in two stages (simultaneous with Line One and Line Two), the loop would have covered major transport hubs (Liverpool Lime Street, for mainline services; Moorfields for the Merseyrail network; Paradise Street Interchange for City bus services; and the Pier Head for Mersey Ferry services), tourist destinations (including St. George's Hall, the Tate Liverpool and the Albert Dock), and the major shopping thoroughfares. Liverpool Lime Street railway station on Lime Street is a mainline and underground Railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England In London, the Moorfields were one of the last pieces of open land in the City of London, near the Moorgate. Merseyrail is the name given to the electric metro-style commuter Train network centred on Liverpool in the metropolitan county of Merseyside The Mersey Ferry is a Ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool and the Wirral Peninsula St George's Hall is in Liverpool city centre on Lime Street opposite Lime Street railway station ( Tate Liverpool is an Art gallery and Museum in Liverpool, England, and part of Tate, along with Tate St Ives, Cornwall The Albert Dock is a complex of dock buildings and warehouses in Liverpool, England.
Line One
Line One would have travelled from the Liverpool city centre loop, heading northwesterly to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and out to West Derby and Croxteth, terminating at Kirkby; a distance of some 11 miles (18 kilometres). The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is a large Teaching hospital in Liverpool, England. West Derby is a suburb in the north of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Croxteth is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. Kirkby ( IPA /ˈkɝbiː/ — the second "k" is silent is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley on Merseyside in England A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand On December 21, 2004, the Merseytram Line 1 Transport and Works Act application was approved by the Secretary of State. Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Secretary of State is a commonly used title for a Government Official. The line was originally intended to start construction on July 1, 2005 for a 2007 opening. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. It is now expected to go ahead in view of Everton's proposed move to a new stadium in Kirkby. Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool.
Line Two
Line Two - intended for a 2008 opening - would have used the city centre loop and headed east to Prescot and Whiston, via Knotty Ash and Page Moss. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Prescot is a town and Civil parish, within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley on Merseyside, England. Whiston is an area within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England, situated approximately east of Liverpool city centre Knotty Ash is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. Page Moss is a suburb of Knowsley near Huyton, Merseyside. On June 30 2008 the neighbourhood was featured on the BBC TV documentary By the time of the project's cancellation, the line had completed the public consultation stage.
Line Three
Line Three was planned to be a connection with Liverpool John Lennon Airport, and was only in the study stage at the time of the cancellation.