Metrolink trams to Heywood have been promised by Andy Burnham. Last year, the former Greater Manchester mayor even said spades could be in the ground by 2028.
Now Mr Burnham sits in Downing Street as Prime Minister, his successor in the city-region, Bev Craig hasn’t mentioned the project.
She did speak about the expansion of the tram network to Stockport in her manifesto, but Heywood was omitted.
Despite this, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed it is working on a business case for the Heywood project and it still remains on the cards.
It falls under what TfGM calls the Oldham-Rochdale-Heywood-Bury Tram-Train pathfinder.
The new Metrolink line would connect Bury to Rochdale via Heywood and then loop back through Shaw towards Oldham. However, no plans have been formally approved.
When opened, the extension would give Greater Manchester two Metrolink firsts: The first ‘orbital’ Metrolink route, i.e. one which does not go via the city centre, and the first ‘tram-train’, set to be rolled out across the city in the coming years.
Tram-trains are fully electric, using overhead wires like trams for power on some sections of track, and batteries on other stretches.
The revamped Bury Interchange will be built to handle tram-trains, trams, and buses, the TfGM report says.
The business case for Heywood is expected to be completed in 2026, Andy Burnham announced in August 2025.
It formed part of the Greater Manchester Strategy put forward the previous month.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) mayor and local council leaders pledged for 90 per cent of people in the city-region to be within a five-minute walk of a bus or tram that comes at least every 30 minutes by 2030.
The idea is to link every borough in Greater Manchester to the Metrolink network, with a long-term plan for major expansion of the Bee Network.
A spokesperson for TfGM said: “This is a large and complex scheme and work is still ongoing.
“There are several key next steps coming up – including timetable modelling with Network Rail, market engagement with vehicle manufacturers, and making space as part of the Bury Interchange Redevelopment for a future third platform.”
Currently, there has been no suggestion that spades won’t be in the ground by 2028, as promised by Andy Burnham. But there hasn’t been any confirmation either.
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