Track to the future

The Gracie Fields pulls out of Mumps

OUT with the old and in with the new...it’s the end of an era as the Oldham loop line shuts down after more than 140 years of train travel.

Work will now begin to bring Metrolink to the borough by autumn 2011 following a tortuous saga which has seen the project cancelled and restarted time and time again.

Trains have run along the loop line from Manchester Victoria to Oldham and Rochdale since the 19th century, ferrying commuters and shoppers on a daily basis.

The 12-mile line, which has nine stations en route, boasts the steepest gradient — 1 in 27 at Werneth — of regular passenger lines in the country.

To mark the loop line’s last day of service, Northern Rail named one of its Class 156 trains Gracie Fields after the Rochdale-born actress and singer.

The Gracie Fields will continue to serve other routes throughout the North-West.

Train users will now have to make their journeys by bus and GMPTE has revamped timetables in an attempt to make life easier for commuters.

But the decision to close the line has caused outrage among train users who believe that buses are not a suitable alternative.

Howard Sykes, council leader, said: “We fully understand that the next couple of years will be a difficult period for commuters.

“In the long-term, however, the benefits this scheme will bring represent a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and one that we must embrace and exploit for the benefit of future generations of Oldham’s citizens.”