No invite to station relaunch for transport leader Jim

THE upgraded Victora Station in Manchester

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OLDHAM council leader Jim McMahon OBE has hit out after not being invited to the reopening of Manchester’s Victoria station this week — despite being Greater Manchester’s lead member for transport.

The £44 million station revamp saw members of the public join dignitaries from across the region on Tuesday. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin - in Manchester for the Conservative conference - unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion.

But Councillor McMahon, lead member for transport with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, didn’t receive an invite - so took to social media to express his annoyance.

He said: “Guess the Tories have another list: the Northern Powerless. No invite to opening of Victoria Station despite being lead member for Transport.”

The station’s massive overhaul — including four new tram platforms and three new tracks — will see passenger numbers increase from 20,000 to 40,000 a day. The revamp is part of the government’s project to deliver a £600 million northern hub for Network Rail.

The project will ease the region’s heavily-congested rail network by allowing 700 extra trains to run every day by 2019, boosting annual passenger capacity by 44 million and bringing £4 billion and up to 30,000 jobs to the region’s economy.

Councillor McMahon said: “Transport for Greater Manchester invested over £12 million in Victoria Station and it is an important Metrolink hub for large parts of the city centre.

“As the lead member for transport with the authority I have a responsibly to represent Greater Manchester on these matters - but clearly that wasn’t considered.

“I’m not personally offended or slighted at all, but it does undermine the authority and the collective investment we’ve made.”