The Government has now committed to providing £5.3billion towards to cost of Crossrail in London - that’s not the Government support for transport in London but for one project, albeit a significant one.
Meanwhile here in Greater Manchester - and please take note of my emphasis here - we have had to bid for a share of a £3billion loan to cover almost all future public transport investment. Of course, even then the loan comes with more strings than a feature-length episode of Thunderbirds. As a sweetener we’ve now also got a Piccadilly feasibility study, but of course a feasibility study comes with no further commitments, and a lengthy report doesn’t take anyone into work in the city!
I am not for one minute arguing against Crossrail, which is a much needed scheme, nor do I expect that Manchester should receive the same size slice of the cake as London does, but I do expect a level playing field and an element of proportion to Government funding. At the moment, this does not seem to be the case.
Raw Deal For Greater Manchester
David Ottewell has an interesting post on today’s rail announcements. Leaving aside the electoral implications (if that is possible in the current political climate!), he gets it spot on.
The Government has now committed to providing £5.3billion towards to cost of Crossrail in London - that’s not the Government support for transport in London but for one project, albeit a significant one.
Meanwhile here in Greater Manchester - and please take note of my emphasis here - we have had to bid for a share of a £3billion loan to cover almost all future public transport investment. Of course, even then the loan comes with more strings than a feature-length episode of Thunderbirds. As a sweetener we’ve now also got a Piccadilly feasibility study, but of course a feasibility study comes with no further commitments, and a lengthy report doesn’t take anyone into work in the city!
I am not for one minute arguing against Crossrail, which is a much needed scheme, nor do I expect that Manchester should receive the same size slice of the cake as London does, but I do expect a level playing field and an element of proportion to Government funding. At the moment, this does not seem to be the case.