Metrolink extensions have hit the headlines again this week, but it's not the usual suspects making a splash.

For years, talk of extending trams to Stockport town centre and introducing tram-trains to Heywood dominated discussions of Metrolink's future, but that subsided after Chancellor Rachel Reeves approved funding for both in June.

Now, attention has turned to longer-term ambitions to take Metrolink to every corner of Greater Manchester — and outside its borders.

Plans to begin early-stage preparation work on six new potential lines are closer and closer to becoming a reality. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) will start work on a 'formal strategic outline case' for three new lines in autumn of 2025, all connected to Manchester Airport.

One is a 'Stockport to Airport tram-train', another is a called 'Airport Western Leg tram', and the third is a tram-train from 'Altrincham to the Airport' with 'potential links to mid-Cheshire'.

Work on a second strategic outline case will begin next summer on three lines focused on the north-west quarter of Greater Manchester, specifically a Salford Quays to Salford Crescent tram, a city centre to Salford Crescent tram, and lastly trams or tram-trains out to Wigan via Atherton, Bolton, and Leigh.

(Image - TfGM)

Andy Burnham has since confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service where the mid-Cheshire service would end up.

"It would be in the direction of Warrington is what we're looking at," he said on Tuesday (August 19). "So there's an early piece of work underway to look at what that would mean. Obviously lots of people commute to Greater Manchester from the Warrington area."

However, the mayor clarified the Warrington line is not a top priority. He added: "It's a medium-to- longer-term consideration."

The LDRS understands formal work to determine the route is yet to begin, showing how embryonic the move is. But it's not a new idea. 

In fact, the mayor first unveiled a plan for 'tram-trains' to Cheshire — namely Warrington and Wilmslow — back in 2019. 

The Greater Manchester 'tube map' announcement showed tram-trains going from the city centre to Warrington via Urmston and Irlam. Wilmslow services came from Manchester Airport and Wythenshawe.

A map showing both existing and potential lines for the Metrolink around Greater Manchester, including in Stockport (Image - GMCA)

The 'death star' map, as it was nicknamed, outlined his vision for how residents would get around the region.

It was not filled with pie-in-the-sky dreams, though.

It made the case for franchising buses, and five-and-a-half years later, the Bee Network made that a reality. Also listed by the map were the Heywood and Stockport projects and the introduction of Bee Network rail, which all look set to be a reality in coming years.

Tram-trains to Warrington via Irlam and Urmston were also shown in the 2024 TfGM 'Draft Rapid Transit Strategy', but the Wilmslow service had been modified to a traditional rail route.

So while the Cheshire plans are in their infancy, they are not fanciful, if past 'death star' plans are anything to go by.

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