John Leech MP Founds Parliamentary Group on Light Rail

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 5th Apr 2006

John Leech, Lib Dem MP for Manchester Withington and Lib Dem Transport spokesman, has heralded the birth of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Light Rail which will help in the fight to bring Metrolink to South Manchester.

Liberal Democrats John Leech and Rochdale MP Paul Rowen are founder members of this Group, which aims to put pressure on the Government to expand the Light Rail network across the country.

"Light Rail systems such as Metrolink are an efficient, cost-effective, environmentally friendly form of public transport, which has proved extremely attractive to the public" said John Leech MP, speaking after the inaugural meeting of the Group.

"Yet the Government continues to delay and turn down light rail schemes across the country. This All-Party Parliamentary Group will highlight the undoubted benefits of light rail, and put pressure on the Government to give the people of Manchester and other UK cities improved access to this hugely popular form of transport. Traffic congestion is getting worse all the time: and that's bad news for the environment as well as for anyone trying to get around. Expanding the light rail network would provide easier and quicker public transport and would take cars off the roads."

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