Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) has awarded the M-PACT-Thales consortium a contract for electromechanical systems for the Manchester tramway extension.
The consortium, which consists of Thales UK, Laing O’Rourke and GrantRail, will supply overhead line, power, communications, passenger information and CCTV and the associated systems integration and maintenance services for the Metrolink Phase 3A extension project.
The extended lines will run to Oldham and Rochdale, Droylsden in Tameside and Chorlton in south Manchester. According to Thales, the extension would increase the number of daily passenger trips on the network from 55,000 to more than 90,000.
The project is due for completion in 2012, with an extended maintenance contract running until 2017.
Poll: Should the UK’s railways be renationalised?
If only the track is nationalised then it is an emasculated one with limited function and improvements will be focused on existing commuter and large...