Work begins to deliver more locally accountable rail services in Greater Manchester

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Great British Railways Transition Team have formally begun working together ahead of plans to deliver a more locally accountable rail network in the city-region.

The start of work follows the launch of the Bee Network in September 2023 that brings buses back under local control, with plans to do the same with local rail services announced as part of Greater Manchester’s Trailblazer devolution deal. TfGM plan to begin integrate local rail into the Bee Network by 2030. It will also support Great British Railways’ vision for a simpler, better network.

The partnership between TfGM and Great British Railways Transition Team will enable a pilot roll-out of  ‘tap-in, tap-out’ Pay As You Go (PAYG) technology, initially expected to launch in 2025 on services between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge, and Manchester Piccadilly and Glossop. Also planned for the local rail services in Greater Manchester are an integrated fare system across bus, tram and rail services, as well as better integration of stations into the Bee Network to make it easier to change between different modes of public transport, as well as walking and cycling routes.

Rufus Boyd, Interim Great British Railways Transition Team Lead Director, said:

“Our current railway system has lost focus on customers and doesn’t align to the new model of political devolution. 

“A future guiding mind for rail can tackle this by bringing different parties together so that decisions about train services are made at the most local level possible, by people who know what’s best for Greater Manchester.

“This new partnership brings together key organisations involved in the city-region’s transport with the aim of enabling people to make and pay for journeys seamlessly across trains, buses, trams and bikes. This improved connectivity and joint approach can unlock jobs, housing and economic growth across the city region.”

Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said:

“The delivery of the first phase of bus franchising alongside the existing Metrolink tram network lays the ground for integrated public transport through Greater Manchester’s Bee Network by January 2025. We then want to go further.

“By setting up this partnership with GBRTT we will work together to integrate local rail into the Bee Network by 2030. This will provide customers and businesses with access to joined-up journeys with simple fares and ticketing and high-quality real-time information and will transform transport for people across our growing city-region.”

Partnership development will be overseen by a Partnership Oversight Group (POG) which brings together expertise from across the sector, such as Network Rail, Transport for the North, the Department for Transport and others to help drive innovative ideas to benefit the people and businesses of Greater Manchester.