Underground tunnels are being considered as part of a new plan to improve transport across Greater Manchester, the council has revealed.
A comprehensive report compiled in 2017 by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) concluded that by 2040, the city would require “significant additional cross-city capacity” – and one potential solution raised was the construction of new rail tunnels beneath the city centre.
TfGM said that an underground network would “deliver the excellent connectivity and faster journey times we need into and across the Regional Centre, without taking up valuable land or creating further severance by building new lines at street level.”
Three years later, tunnels remain on the table.
Since 2017, Manchester city centre has gotten increasingly busier and more populous – attracting hundreds of thousands of commuters on a daily basis.
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A fresh report – the Draft City Centre Transport Strategy 2020 – reveals that the council are all set to give the prospect of underground travel serious consideration in the coming months, whilst acquiring feedback from the wider public.
“We will look at the feasibility of further capacity expansions of the network through a Metro tunnel under the city centre,” the council states.
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“This solution would avoid taking scarce street level space to expand the network and to facilitate longer vehicles.
“We will also enhance connectivity between Metrolink and rail at key city centre stations, including Deansgate.”
Those in favour of an underground network might argue that the project is in fact forty years late.
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Manchester was planning a subterranean network as long ago as the seventies, with aims to assemble an ambitious Picc-Vic tunnel that linked the city from top to bottom.
Almost a decade’s worth of planning went into the exciting travel system. Only for the government to abruptly turn off the money tap.
When finances were stopped, everyone involved in the Picc-Vic tunnel simply had to walk away – leaving a gaping hole in the city where construction had already started.
Wikipedia
The first attempt might have ended in disappointment, but the council and TfGM appear to be contemplating modern Manchester tunnels with earnestness.
They’ve included underground travel as part of a prospective long-term strategy for the city. According to the report, this will initially involve creating more Metrolink connections between Salford and the city centre, before making a series of enhancements that prepare the network to dip below street level circa 2035-2040.
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More immediate solutions presented in the plan include a completely pedestrianised Deansgate; a facelift for the permanently-busy Great Ancoats Street; an upgrade to Salford Central Railway Station; redevelopment of Albert Square and Piccadilly Gardens; and important improvements to Mancunian Way.
The council is also aiming to install new cycle routes for Northern Quarter and Chapel Street East, as well as Ancoats & New Islington.
David Dixon / Geograph
Despite the setbacks suffered from the onset of coronavirus, which has hit Greater Manchester particularly hard since the summer, the council remain committed to “recovery” and significant investment, whilst aiming to become entirely zero-carbon by 2038.
“In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, our plans focus on how the city centre can lead a strong, sustainable, healthy and inclusive recovery, taking the achievements made since 2010 to the next level,” the report states.
“By 2040, there is potential for 100,000 more jobs and 50,000 more homes in the city centre. Much of this is driven by planned growth accounted for in Greater Manchester’s plan for Homes, Jobs and the Environment, the Spatial Framework.
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“This includes providing the right locations for homes and creating jobs to ensure the future prosperity of the city-region, whilst prioritising development of brownfield sites and reducing unnecessary green belt release. Planning for the future city centre requires us to balance sometimes competing demands, as growth puts additional pressure on transport systems and streets.”
The report has been made available for public access and can be downloaded from the Manchester City Council website.
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Passengers warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend
Emily Sergeant
Bus services across Greater Manchester will be disrupted later this weekend as drivers from two companies stage strike action.
In what is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says it has had confirmation that staff from two operators, Stagecoach and Metroline, will go ahead with further planned strikes this weekend.
If this is the first you’re hearing of the upcoming industrial action, 2,000 workers who were employed by Stagecoach, Metroline Manchester, and First Bus Rochdale – each of which are firms among those that make up the bus part of the Bee Network – walked out in a number of co-ordinated strikes earlier this month amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Unite the Union said each of the firms are ‘highly profitable’ and it’s therefore ‘disappointing’ that workers are being denied a fair wage.
In this case, Unite has confirmed that drivers at First have called off further action after voting to accept a revised pay offer.
Passengers are being warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend / Credit: TfGM
However, both Stagecoach and Metroline staff have opted to proceed with strike action onFriday 10 October, Saturday 11 October, and Monday 13 October.
This means that around 190 services, including some dedicated school buses, will not run on strike days, and TfGM is therefore advising everyone to ‘check before they travel’ and allow extra time to make their journey.
Bus services in Tameside, Trafford, and Stockport are not expected to run, and some services in South Manchester, parts of the city centre, and Rochdale will also be impacted.
Many bus services will continue to run ‘as usual’, however, and this includes services such as the Free Bus in Manchester city centre, as well as the majority of buses in Bolton, Bury, Salford, and Wigan.
The strikes are the latest in an ongoing dispute over pay / Credit: TfGM
“While we are pleased that planned industrial action by First staff has been called off, we encourage Stagecoach, Metroline, and Unite to continue discussions to avert further strike action,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer at TfGM.
“We’ll continue to keep passengers informed and support them to make journeys wherever possible. We encourage everyone to check the latest status of their service before they travel, leave plenty of time for their journey and to get in touch if they have any questions.”
Unite has indicated that further industrial action will also happen on Saturday 18, Thursday 23 and Friday 24 October.
This action could still take place, if pay negotiations are not concluded.
Featured Image – TfGM
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First vendors confirmed Glossop Market Hall, including two indie Manc traders
Danny Jones
The first vendors for the upcoming Glossop Market Hall have been announced, and the lineup includes two beloved Greater Manchester independent businesses.
Better still, the third is another noteworthy name from the North West.
Glossop Market Hall is scheduled to launch later this year, setting up shop in the historic town hall complex, where the High Peak Borough Council, a retail shopping arcade and various other municipal buildings have stood in various different iterations for nearly well over a century.
With the Derbyshire town set to celebrate the opening of the newly revamped market hall, those behind the new Glossop attraction have now revealed the first three names set to take up residence there.
As you can see, the biggest names already signed on to cook from one of the six kitchens is a Manchester favourite food hall in its own right: Hello Oriental.
The Pan-Asian paradise not only has a subterranean space below Circle Square, but also at The Trafford Centre, as well as a dessert spin-off in Freight Island.
Indie trader number two comes in the form of B&V Trading, who are based at Stanley Square in Sale and specialise in eco-friendly, UK-made treats, toys and essentials for four-legged friends.
After proving a hit with the locals, their small stall at nearby Altrincham Market has grown to see them open up not just a second site in the leafy Cheshire suburbs of Knutsford back in 2022, but now boast a third location in neighbouring Macclesfield.
Speaking of Macc, local gin and whisky makers, Forest Distillery – based up at the famous Cat and Fiddle Inn pub towards the Peaks – they round out the first wave of regional businesses set to pop up in Glossop Market Hall (GMH) when it finally arrives this winter.
And once again, as the update on social media reads: “This is just the beginning”.
Natives, day-trippers and tourists from all over are bound to visit this place when it opens sometime in November (exact date still TBC), and with space not only for a dedicated bar, dining space and a coffee shop, but a total of 17 retail spaces, we can’t wait to see what comes next.
GMH becomes just the latest among a growing trend of food and drink halls popping up all over our part of the country, with virtually every Greater Manchester borough now boasting at least one of their own – or, in the city centre’s case, what feels like a dozen now.
Exhibit number… not sure, we’ve lost track at this point.
The Manc -
25th September 2020 
