Will there be Metrolink trams to Stockport and, if so, when?

Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig has said the plan to bring tram services to Stockport is "complicated" but moving ahead.

The much-called-for expansion of trams to the town was confirmed last summer when former chancellor Rachel Reeves made a commitment to pay for the project. It would see Metrolink trams extended from East Didsbury to Stockport.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester on Thursday, Craig said of the project, which is yet to progress: "It's moving, but it is complicated because you've got to work through the route and the costings."

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), which owns the Metrolink system, said in November it was working with Stockport Council to make a business case.

Craig added: "What Andy gave his commitment to do was to begin the work to plan the route, to consult on that, and to figure out how much it was going to cost and where we would engineer it.

"That work is still ongoing and I've wanted to support that."

Funding for the plan was confirmed last year when TfGM was handed £2.5bn to spend on new projects, including extending the tram network to Stockport town centre.

Stockport Interchange, which opened in 2024 at a cost of £135m, was designed to be Metrolink-ready and accommodate future tram services.

The council said it hoped to be able to make an announcement "later in the autumn".

"This expansion will mean people from Chorlton and Didsbury can come and experience Stockport in the same way the Stockport residents do," said Paul Richards, deputy chief executive of Stockport Council.

Richards continued: "The addition of trams is not only about residents but it's about job opportunities for those residents as well.

"The ability for residents to live in Stockport and work across the entire city region is really, really important and will help with that vibrancy that we're we're looking to to continue to develop in Stockport Town Centre."

There have been calls from local politicians for tram services to be further expanded into other areas around the borough, including to Cheadle, the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

TfGM said last year that part of its work on the business case to expand Metrolink to Stockport would involve looking at "how this may unlock future extensions" of the network.

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