A DEAL to bring a struggling Metrolink back to life could be agreed within days – but a £3 million government bailout would only be enough to keep it ticking over.

That is according to Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who says the tram system could still be "mothballed"unless it receives the "medium amount" of funding it needs.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has given some indications that they are prepared to come forward with more money, though it remains unclear how much they will commit.

Metrolink is currently losing around £5.5 million a month with coronavirus lockdown measures forcing all but essential workers off the network.

But if the trams are forced to shut down completely, Mr Burnham has committed to finding other means of getting NHS employees, carers and supermarket staff into work.

Speaking at a briefing on Greater Manchester’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, he said a decision on the future of Metrolink’s services will be made next week.

“It’s frustrating but there are signs that we might have a resolution soon,” he said on Wednesday.

“If we were to move to a mothball situation, that would require a significant amount of money to keep the service ticking over so that it doesn’t go into a complete lockdown position.

“If we were to receive £3 million from the government we’d have to use a lot of that just to keep things ticking over and to possibly provide some bus services to replace those critical Metrolink services.

“That's not somewhere we want to be, we want to keep the Metrolink running.

“In all instances I can assure all of those people who are keeping our country running, and most importantly who are caring for our loved ones in hospitals and social care settings, that I will continue to find a way of running public transport services that enable them to get to work.”

Mr Burnham believes that the government is expecting ‘local sources’ to provide funding to bridge the lost income from tram fares, but Greater Manchester authorities have ‘limited access’ to such support.

He added: “In the second city of England, the government should be putting in place an arrangement to allow our mass transit system to run – even if it’s for those five per cent of people who are going to work in our supermarkets, care homes and hospitals.

“They need to put in place an arrangement that allows Metrolink to come back to life as we move back toward a position where people are going back to work.”

When asked about what funding was going to be provided to Greater Manchester, a DfT spokesperson said: “We are aware of the challenges faced by light rail operators, and continue to work closely with the sector and local authorities on the best solution for passengers.”