Metrolink is losing millions each month and could be ‘mothballed’

Metrolink could be shut down unless the government provides extra funding within ‘days rather than weeks’, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has warned.

Passenger numbers have plummeted since the coronavirus lockdown, with monthly income dropping from £6 million to ‘well below £1 million’.

Regional leaders are considering ‘mothballing’ the network until it receives a government bail out similar to that which has been offered to rail and bus operators.

Mr Burnham admitted that the move would make it difficult for NHS and social care staff, who were given free travel on the Metrolink earlier this month.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), which runs the network, could also be forced to ‘pare down’ services depending on the level of government funding.

Mr Burnham stressed that post-pandemic economic recovery would require functioning public transport systems.

But he suggested that social distancing on buses, trains and trams could last for the rest of the year.

Speaking at a joint press briefing with Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool city region, Mr Burnham said: “We are losing millions of pounds every month trying to run a public transport service in these circumstances.

“If there is no deal from the government in the way they’ve bailed out the bus and rail sectors, we are going to face the difficult decision of whether or not we need to mothball the Metrolink.

“It’s not something we have any wish to do because we want to support those crucial workers, those minimum wage heroes, because they still need to get to work for us.

“In absence of that [government] support, we are forced into a corner.”

Between March 2 and April 20, the number of people using the Metrolink fell by 95%, with tram frequency dropping to one every 20 minutes.

With lockdown expected to last for at least another three weeks, Mr Burnham urged the government to step in and help ‘get our cities back to life as quickly as possible’ once the measures are lifted.

He said: “We’re still weeks into this now and we don’t have an answer. Metrolink, in normal times, would bring in around £6 million a month and that is now down to well below £1 million.

“We cannot continue to face losses of this kind without any way of understanding how we will make that income up.

“Public transport would probably have to run with social distancing for some time, possibly months rather than weeks – the rest of this year.

“We’re going to need support to get public transport running to levels we would want to run again.

“I’m talking about a [government] deal within days rather than weeks.”

When asked about how the shutting down of Metrolink would affect frontline workers using it to get to and from work, Mr Burnham said: “They would find it difficult, and we don’t want that to happen.”

The Department for Transport has been contacted for comment.

Niall Griffiths, Local Democracy Reporter