New Rochdale Interchange: Pictures and Words

FULL funding for Rochdale’s new £11.5 million transport interchange – set to be the first in Europe with integrated hydropower generation – has been approved by the Government.

The hydroelectric turbine produces up to 86,000kWh of electricity every year, which will help to reduce the interchange’s carbon footprint by over a quarter.

The announcement formed part of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, made in the House of Commons last week, and confirms that the scheme can now go ahead with joint contributions from the Department for Transport, Rochdale MBC and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

It was one of 45 schemes competing for funding across the country.

The new interchange on Smith Street, next to the River Roch, will replace the existing bus station and will be next to the town centre Metrolink stop.

For passengers, the new interchange will significantly improvepassenger services and facilities, including electronic passenger information displays at stands.

It should be complete by 2013, when it will become the first of its kind in Europe: a reduced carbon public transport hub running with hydropower, thanks to a scheme to use the River Roch to generate electricity.

A hydroelectric turbine has been installed next to the interchange site which converts energy from the river as it flows rapidly through a weir. The weight of the water turns the screw-shaped turbine, generating electricity.

Councillor Andrew Fender, Chair of the TfGM Committee, said: “Rochdale’s innovative new transport interchange is a very striking landmark and will be a vast improvement for both passengers and bus operators, who currently use an outdated bus station built in the 1970s.

“Today’s announcement also kick-starts the regeneration of Rochdale town centre because it effectively triggers a domino effect of projects that have been waiting for clarity over the future of the current bus station site.”

The interchange has been developed in consultation with local bus operators, transport user groups and disability access groups, and the building has been designed by experts from Aedas Architects Limited, Jacobs UK Ltd, Marston and Grundy, Davis Langdon LLP and Atkins.

The hydroelectric turbine produces up to 86,000kWh of electricity every year, which will help to reduce the interchange’s carbon footprint by over a quarter.

The turbine is driven by an ‘Archimedean screw’, which was supplied by Spaans Babcock, a specialist contractor with a local base in Heywood. There is also a fish pass, funded by the Environment Agency, which helps fish to swim upstream past the turbine to migrate and spawn.