Mayor Andy Burnham reveals plans to integrate eight commuter rail lines into Bee Network

Mayor Andy Burnham has set out Greater Manchester's step-by-step plan to bring rail into the Bee Network by 2028 which is the next stage of his joined-up 'London-style' public transport system.

Developed in partnership with the rail industry, Department for Transport (DfT) and Shadow Great British Rail, the plan is aimed at improving transport as well as 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.

The eight commuter Bee Network Rail lines are:

  • Rochdale stopping services (Local trains that call at stations between Manchester and Rochdale)
  • Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge
  • Glossop, Hadfield and Rose Hill Marple via Guide Bridge
  • Alderley Edge and Buxton via Stockport
  • Airport stopping services (Local trains that call at stations between Manchester and Manchester Airport)
  • Wigan via Golborne
  • Wigan via Atherton (Local trains continuing on to Southport)
  • Wigan via Bolton (Local trains continuing on to Southport)

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.

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.

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."

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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Vince Chadwick
Tuesday 28th January 2025 at 1:21 pm
Two things worry me about this:

1)
Andy Burnham has said he wants to see the end of freight trains running through the city centre. The problem there is that really isn't any practical alternative route for the intermodal rail freight operators.

One fright train takes 129 HGVs off our motorways according to Rail Partners CEO Andy Bagnall. The last thing we should be doing, not least for reasons of decarbonisation and easing road chaos, is sidelining rail freight which is extremely capacity constrained at present and thus cannot fulfill its potential. Instead, we need to give it the headroom to greatly expand, though with the last government's emasculation of HS2 and the 70% extra rail capacity that would have brought it seems that those running the UK don't share that view.

2)
The railway operates as an integrated network, which brings benefits by way of economies of scale and of 'joined up thinking' in planning and operation.
Is it right to hive parts of it off to operate as separate entities, especially as we are promised 'Great British Railways', an organisation which, if sensibly implemented, would be a unifying 'guiding mind' for the railway, something it has lacked since the Strategic Rail Authority was scrapped and the dead hand of DfT stepped in to micro-manage everything from specifying trains with 'ironing board' seats and no catering, to which trains will run and which wont, and what passenger capacity each will be.

Is this proposal more about expanding Any Burnham's fiefdom than delivering an efficient and effective passenger and freight railway?
Robert Taylor
Wednesday 29th January 2025 at 4:20 pm
@Vince Chadwick, to some extent I agree with "2" but some of these journeys via Piccadilly are pretty bad. Once went the 20ish miles to Bryn from Wilmslow via train and it was a three hour+ journey.

With regard to "1" other options for freight besides Piccadilly, the detours are horrendous. My hope is there may be some funds to reopen closed lines (such as Colne-Skipton) and make alterations (Burscough Curves) easing rail congestion in order that traffic can be moved to other routes however these are all a bit wishful in the current political climate.
Simon Worthington
Thursday 30th January 2025 at 8:07 am
Flagship station at the airport in less than two years. Give that magic lamp a rub Andy. Isn’t he another one who should be charged and in crown court?

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