Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has set out a step-by-step plan to bring rail into the Bee Network by 2028, working with the rail industry. It is the next stage of his joined-up ‘London-style’ public transport system, intended to boost passenger numbers, drive growth and deliver new homes.
Developed in partnership with the rail industry, Department for Transport (DfT), and Shadow Great British Rail, the plan is aimed at not only improving transport but unlocking major regeneration and housing opportunities on land around the city-region’s stations.
Greater Manchester’s proposition is for eight commuter rail lines, covering 64 stations, to be brought into the Bee Network in three phases, delivering major improvements to the city-region’s train stations, services and passenger experience – including integrated capped fares across bus, tram and train.
Under the plan, the first two lines – connecting Manchester to Glossop and Stalybridge – will join by December 2026. A further 32 stations and all lines within Greater Manchester would join by 2030.
The approach is expected to boost the number of trips by train by 1.3 million each year, with more people choosing public transport and more services running later and at the weekend. Doing so will foster more sustainable economic growth, ensuring residents in new homes have rail connections right on the doorstep, connecting them to even more opportunities.
By 2028, the plan for Bee Network rail integration is scheduled to deliver:
- Tap in, tap out ticketing
- Simpler fares across bus, tram and train
- Bee Network stations and train
- New homes and regeneration around stations
- Service improvements
- A step-change in making stations accessible for all passengers
- New rail stations
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “Our rail system today is acting as a brake on growth and, as the UK’s fastest growing city-region, Greater Manchester deserves better. We need a railway that is reliable and fully integrated with the rest of the Bee Network to drive growth and deliver new homes with public transport connections on the doorstep.
“Building on the success of bringing our buses back under local control, we’re planning a phased approach to bringing eight commuter lines and their stations into the Bee Network. It will start with lines between the city centre and Glossop and Stalybridge and then expand each year between now and 2028.
“Our plan puts passengers first by delivering a simplified, joined-up public transport network, with better services, stations and overall experience. Only by making travel by train more reliable, simpler, flexible and accessible to everyone, will we convince more people to leave the car at home and make the switch to the Bee Network.
“Delivering change on the railways is notoriously complex, but our phased plan has been drawn up with and has the backing of the rail industry. We’ll continue to work with government – as Great British Rail is established – to support them on the national reform of the railways, enacting the rail powers outlined in the English Devolution White Paper and supporting the Government’s agenda.”
The Mayor has committed to approaching the expansion of the Bee Network with the same rigour and pace applied to bus franchising, which made history when completed on time and on budget earlier this month (5 January).
Getting more people onto public transport will not only make rail services more financially sustainable – reducing the need for Government subsidies – but will play a major role in reaching net zero targets. Integrating the eight rail lines alone is expected to take over 7 million cars off the road, saving around 700 tonnes of carbon.
It is planned for Greater Manchester leaders to work closely with the Department for Transport, Network Rail, Shadow Great British Railways and Train Operating Companies to further develop and implement the three-phase plan as follows:
- Phase 1 [By December 2026]: Contactless tap in tap out ticketing across 17 stations on the first two lines between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge, and Manchester Piccadilly and Glossop. Passengers will also see a trial of Bee Network branded trains, stations brought up to Bee Network standards, and flagship stations at Manchester Piccadilly and Stalybridge showcasing the integrated approach in action.
- Phase 2 [By December 2027]: Rollout of tap in tap out ticketing on a further two lines, including services connecting Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Airport, Alderley Edge and Buxton via Stockport. The stations on these corridors will join the Bee Network, with a flagship station at Manchester Airport, creating an international travel hub as the gateway to the city-region.
- Phase 3 [By December 2028]: Services on the Rochdale, Wigan via Atherton (onward to Southport), Wigan via Bolton (onward to Southport) and Wigan via Golborne lines enter the Bee Network, with these stations being upgraded to the new standard.
The same approach will then be applied to the remaining Greater Manchester stations by 2030.
Image credit: Transport for Greater Manchester
