There are a lot of things that make London an attractive city, and one factor is that it has a system of getting around that is not only expansive, but actually (well, mostly) works.
The London Underground has been the worldwide gold standard in public transport for 150 years. It may be stuffy, it may be loud, but it usually gets you where you need to be, which is really all it needs to do. Soon, Manchester may get some of that sweet, sweet subterranean convenience.
Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester’s mayor, announced last week his plans to expand the ‘Bee Network’, which is Manchester’s transport matrix. His initial suggestions, which he stressed are ‘not fully costed’ policies, include bringing eight commuter railways into the network, extending the tram to Stockport and Middleton, and, eventually, heading underground.
Although building a metro would be hugely expensive, Burnham defended the idea by stating: ‘There is a risk that the lack of transport connectivity and capacity in the end could become a barrier to growth in our city region.
‘There is a risk that the lack of transport connectivity and capacity in the end could become a barrier to growth in our city region… as any second city anywhere else in Europe has done.’
There are no immediate plans to start tunnelling, and the multi-billion pound price tag may mean it’s put on the back-burner for now. Burnham has stressed that his immediate priority is improving existing links on the metro and bus services, as well as overseeing the tram extension hopefully by the end of the decade.
No costed plans have been made yet, but the mayor seems pretty committed to making Manchester more connected, so who knows what could happen in the next couple of decades. For now, we can dream about the possibility of a future where every major city is as easy to get around as the capital. A commuter can only dream.
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