Government ministers are in Rochdale this morning [Wednesday 4 June] to announce details of the Transport for the City Regions funding, with Greater Manchester awarded £2.5 billion.
Mayor Andy Burnham said that further progress on the next phase of the Bee Network will now be delivered at an unrelenting pace. Greater Manchester will:
Create an all-electric local public transport network:
A thousand new EV buses will form a 100% electric fleet serving its communities. Alongside trams powered by renewable energy and e-bikes for hire, it will deliver an emission-free network. This will build on progress already made to cut CO2 emissions and improve air quality.
Bring rail into the Bee Network:
Local rail lines will be integrated with the Bee Network, with Greater Manchester communities the first outside London to be served by fully joined-up bike, bus, tram and train travel by the end of the decade. The move will see major improvements to stations, including making more fully accessible, as well as capped fares.
Deliver major projects to drive green growth:
A pipeline of transport projects – including a tram line to Stockport and tram-train services connecting Oldham, Rochdale, Heywood and Bury, new Metrolink stops and modern new interchanges – will support the delivery of thousands of new homes, skilled jobs and green growth.
Transport investment will be fundamental to sustaining the city-region’s rate of economic growth, which has outstripped the UK’s average in the past decade.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:
“This is a game-changing moment that will underpin Greater Manchester’s green growth for years to come. Building on our strong track record, we can now move at pace to deliver the next phase of the Bee Network – creating the UK’s first fully electric, zero emission integrated public transport system by 2030.“With a pipeline of major transport projects better connecting our towns and cities, and local rail lines brought into the Bee Network, our communities will be the first outside London to be served by fully joined-up bike, bus, tram and train travel.
“Greater Manchester has had a decade of growth faster than the UK average. This funding – together with our devolved decision-making powers – can be the key to unlocking even more growth in the decade to come.
“It’s a major boost for our own plans to deliver £10bn of investment over the next 10 years, build thousands of new homes, create skilled jobs, and open up new opportunities right across our city-region.”
The new funding will continue to deliver far-reaching benefits across all of Greater Manchester’s towns and cities, underpinning the city-region’s economic growth and delivering tangible benefits for its communities
Key projects will include:
- In Stockport, Greater Manchester will begin construction of a new Metrolink line, bringing Bee Network trams to the town centre
- Oldham, Rochdale, Heywood and Bury will be connected to each other as we begin delivery of new tram-train services
- North Manchester, Bury and Oldham will receive new Metrolink stops to support delivery of thousands of new homes
- Leigh and central Manchester will see the creation of new transport interchanges, with Bury’s new – and the city-region’s first operationally carbon neutral – interchange completed
- Across Greater Manchester, local rail services will be integrated into the Bee Network, fully joining up train travel with buses, trams and active travel
- Town centres across the city region (e.g. Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, Middleton, Stretford) will see new public transport and active travel infrastructure to support ongoing regeneration
The £2.5 billion is part of a package of investment Greater Manchester is seeking to deliver its growth ambitions in full – with the city-region seeking to work collaboratively with Government on exploring new funding models for major transport and other infrastructure projects.
As part of next week’s Spending Review, it is also hoped the Government will back transformational schemes that stretch beyond the city-region’s boundaries, including the new proposed Liverpool-Manchester Railway.
Continued revenue funding from government will also be crucial to support essential bus routes that provide a lifeline to Greater Manchester’s communities and grow the Bee Network, connecting more places by bus and further boosting passenger numbers.
Greater Manchester is already making significant progress in creating a cheaper, cleaner, greener and safer public transport network. Just this week Transport for Greater Manchester completed work on the city-region’s first all electric bus depot in Ashton. Now home to more than 80 zero-emission buses, it means 14 more bus routes across the city region are now serviced by cleaner electric vehicles.
It’s just one of the ways the Bee Network is transforming how people get around, with lower, capped fares across bus and tram and improvements made to more than 75 services helping to reverse decades-long decline in buses with rapidly growing numbers of passengers served by a more reliable, affordable and integrated public transport network.
ENDS
