AN EMERGENCY delegation from Merseyside arrived in London last night hoping to secure face to face talks with Tony Blair to rescue the Merseytram project.
Merseytravel chairman Mark Dowd will be joined by Merseyside MPs as they try to reverse the Government's shock announcement yesterday that it could not support the Liverpool to Kirkby scheme.
With Mr Blair expected in France today, it is likely John Prescott and Transport Secretary Alistair Darling will be asked to explain why five years of work and up to £15m of development costs apparently lie in tatters.
Officials from both Merseytravel and the M-Pact private consortium due to build and operate Merseytram were last night still trying to understand why the Government has gone cold on the project.
Mr Darling delivered the apparently fatal blow in a written statement in Parliament yesterday afternoon when he said he could not approve Line One.
He said the £170m of "in principle" government funding committed in December 2002 still stood - but the Department for Transport contribution had now risen by 40% to £238m, something he could not authorise.
The decision could not only destroy Merseytram, but also cause significant problems for Grosvenor's redevelopment of Liverpool's Paradise Street, as well as the Kings Dock arena and conference centre, both of which were due to be served by Line One.
Cllr Dowd said: "All is not yet lost but we need a comeback akin to Liverpool FC's in the European Cup Final if we are to succeed.
"What we need to do is go down and explain the situation. If anybody really thinks I'm going to throw the towel in, they're very wrong."
Liverpool council leader Mike Storey said he would stand shoulder to shoulder with Merseytravel in fighting to save the tram, a far cry from previous months when the two organisations were at regular loggerheads over the details of the 11-mile route.
A concerted campaign from Manchester succeeded in increasing Whitehall support for its own tram extension from £288m to £520m for general transport issues.
But the Merseyside team faces a race against time with work on Line One due to start on July 1 and the timetable already described as 'record-breaking'.
In his damning statement, Mr Darling said: "I appreciate that Merseytravel has made every effort to keep costs under control.
"However, it is clear that costs remain significantly higher than those that I approved, and that this scheme is an expensive way of delivering these transport benefits for Merseyside.
"Whilst I support tram schemes, I cannot do so at any cost. In the light of all the information I have therefore concluded that I cannot approve Line 1."
Mr Darling clearly suggested the passenger transport authority should look at alternatives to Merseytram.
"The funding will be there for the right proposals," he said.
andykelly@dailypost.co.uk
