The Department of Transport has pledged £244m towards the £575m total cost of three new tram lines linking Manchester city centre to Oldham and Rochdale, Droylesden in Tameside and Chorlton. The remaining £331m will be provided by Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities. This could see an increase of 10 million passengers using the Metrolink.

The Metrolink currently carries approximately 20 million passengers a year. These passengers will also benefit from the investment when work is completed in 2012, with improvements also being made to the current network. Rejuvenating disused rail routes for the trams to run along will allow for faster and more frequent services.

Eddie Smith, chief executive of New East Manchester, said: “This is great news for us, the people of east Manchester, and the many public and private sector partners we work with. These transport links are vital for the regeneration of the area and play a key part in our plans to create a sustainable future for the area.”