New appeal delays Ordsall Chord

摘要

The High Court is due to hear in September a legal challenge to the Secretary of State's decision of March 31 to grant a Transport ft Works Act Order for the Ordsall Chord (RB14843 p8). The challenge is being made by Mark Whitby, a former President of the Institution of Civil Engineers and an objector at the 2014 public inquiry which considered Network Rail's application for the order. His objection centres on the impact that construction will have on the site of the Museum of Science Et Industry in Manchester, and that the proposed alignment will bisect the original Liverpool Et Manchester Railway. Enabling services to run directly between Manchester's three principal stations, the Orsdall Chord would run northwest from Castlefield Junction to join the route into Manchester Victoria via Deal Street Junction, and is a key component of NR's Northern Hub programme. Whitby has proposed a more complex and expensive alternative, designated Option 15, which avoids any impact on the M0S1 site. He believes that errors in the decision-making process that led to the granting of the order have been identified and should be reviewed.