Trams to Leigh?

Presently, Leigh is the largest town in Greater Manchester without a train station and the fifth largest in the UK. Historically, Leigh had two stations, Leigh Bedford and Westleigh, which closed in 1969 and 1954, respectively, due to Beeching’s cuts.

Leigh has suffered significantly from a lack of investment in the town centre, and one primary driver of this is the lack of decent public transport. The nearest train station to the town centre is Atherton, a 20-minute bus ride away. See the gap in rail provision on our interactive map.

Light Rail (UK) believes Leigh, Atherton, and Wigan's lack of quality public transport leads to congestion, severe transport air pollution, and transport poverty, which can best be tackled by providing high-quality steel-on-steel street-running public transport. It will also help futureproof connectivity for epidemics advised to follow the Climate Crisis.

Trams are an efficient way of transporting many people to towns and cities. They have a proven track record in attracting people out of cars; this is typically around a 27% reduction at peak times. In recent years, the guided busway, which runs 7.5km of a 22km route from Leigh to Manchester, has been relatively successful. However, it still takes double the amount of time as a private car and has only reduced usage by 6.5%.

There is also a profound opportunity in the proposed rebalancing of the North-South Economy, especially in the “Red Wall Constituencies” This can be provided by “Levelling-Up” and TfN as part of the "Rail North" proposals must include light rail and tramways, each mode providing optimal service for varying traffic flows. The essential requirement is the full integration of modes, in terms of interchange and through ticketing, allowing seamless journeys. Trams and light rail should be essential to our public transport provision, especially connections in the East with Manchester Metrolink and eventually to the West of Liverpool City Region.

Wigan Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority have committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2038. The local authorities propose to find new and innovative ways to reduce people's dependence on car travel and the emissions it causes.

In recent news, Leigh's surrounding area is set to see two new stations potentially come back to life. Golborne and Kenyon Junction are in the potential pipeline. Golborne Station steaming ahead with plans to build the new station, the first in Greater Manchester in over 20 years. The station will provide an hourly service, improve local connectivity and reduce travel times to Manchester by up to 30 minutes. This presents the opportunity to connect these stations to the centre of Leigh via a public transport option.

The question has always come down to capital expenditure. The current model of the Manchester Metrolink is to use heavy tram vehicles with overhead power lines. This typically comes for £25 million per kilometre of track laid and causes a lot of distribution when interacting with existing infrastructure.

However, a new model of tram transit is currently being tested in England, which could potentially reduce the capital cost of building the infrastructure. The Ultra Light Rail system is less costly, £7 million per kilometre, due to the less disruptive construction methods. The tram units are smaller and lighter and carry their power. This means the tracks can be built above existing utilities on the road and don’t require overhead power lines. The battery-powered units are recharged by connecting via a gantry at the station. Additionally, because the trams run on smooth rails on smooth wheels, they require ⅓ of the energy compared to the bus way equitant.

The UK government scrapped the northern section of HS2 and redirected the funds to improve rail services across North England. This shift focuses on upgrading existing infrastructure, building new stations, and enhancing regional connectivity to boost economic growth and accessibility in northern cities.

As 6000 new suburban homes are planned for the area over the next 5 years, the demand on existing infrastructure will dramatically increase. The extra capacity for good-quality public transport is a basic requirement for Leigh.

Sources

Leigh Guide Busway Upgrade October 2020

Manchester Zero Carbon Framework 2020-2038

Very Light Rail - Coventry