Greater
Manchester
Mayor
Andy
Burnham
has
revealed
a
three-phase
plan
to
bring
rail
services
and
stations
into
the
region’s
Bee
Network,
integrating
commuter
rail
routes
with
trams
and
buses.

The
plans
envisage
simple
fares
using
contactless
smartcards,
permitting
‘tap
in,
tap
out’
travel
on
all
public
transport.
The
first
phase,
covering
trains
between
Manchester,
Glossop
and
Stalybridge,
is
expected
to
be
completed
by
the
end
of
next
year.
The
second
phase
would
follow
two
years
later,
with
the
third
in
2030.
By
that
time,
the
network
would
cover
eight
commuter
lines
and
64
stations.

The
Bee
Network
branding
would
also
be
extended
to
trains,
while
Transport
for
Greater
Manchester
said
it
will
work
with
the
rail
industry
to
make
more
suburban
stations
step-free.
More
than
60
per
cent
of
stations
will
have
step-free
access
by
2028,
compared
with
43
per
cent
at
the
end
of
last
year.
Work
at
Irlam
and
Daisy
Hill
stations
is
set
to
be
completed
this
year,
and
the
Greater
Manchester
Combined
Authority
will
be
considering
funding
allocations
for
more
stations
at
a
meeting
next
week.

Alongside
this
project
plans
for
a
new
station
at
Golborne
have
also
moved
ahead,
because
the
government
has
approved
the
outline
business
case.
The
£32
million
station
will
bring
trains
back
to
Golborne
for
the
first
time
in
more
than
60
years,
and
the
full
business
case
will
now
be
developed
this
year.
It
is
hoped
that
the
new
station
will
open
in
2027.

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
Railways
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.’