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.
News
Manchester United fans planning another major protest amid more upheaval around the club
Danny Jones
Manchester United supporters look set to stage another high-profile demonstration in protest against the INEOS Sports ownership group.
This is the latest response to the club’s continuing struggles, and not just the first proper organised mobilisation of the year, but the first since the most recent major march last spring.
Following the sacking of ‘manager’ Ruben Amorim, despite co-owner Jim Ratcliffe and his board of executives insisting that the Portuguese head coach (that distinction proving to be a crucial detail), the local sporting giants are once again starting from scratch and looking for another replacement boss.
With that in mind, militant fan group The 1958 announced their most recent protest ahead of a home fixture next month in a rather bold fashion…
As announced we protest against this dysfunctional co-ownership before Fulham.
Yep, neither Amorim, Erik ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, nor any face even remotely associated with Old Trafford/Carrington is safe from an AI parody.
As for The 1958 group’s actual protest plans, speaking via the BBC this week, the supporters’ trust has confirmed that they will be making a vocal statement outside the stadium on Sunday, 1 February.
Travelling Reds already made their thoughts known with a very blunt, provocative and somewhat controversial banner in the away end at Turf Moor for the 2-2 draw against Burnley.
With Man United approaching a third-round FA Cup tie against Brighton and two big games in the form of a Manchester Derby at home and a trip to Arsenal, they have decided to choose the Fulham game at Old Trafford to stage the march.
Despite admitting that the results under Amorim were no way near good enough, they insist that the – most notably the overarching and Glazer family shadow ever looming over the organisation.
Further details around the actual timings and locations are still yet to be shared by the organisers, but you can expect this to be a well-attended, large-scale event.
Often convening at The Tollgate pub near regular matchday tram stop, Trafford Bar, before walking down Talbot Road towards the ground itself, we imagine Reds will then descend upon the Theatre of Dreams in their thousands.
In case you didn’t already surmise from the video itself, Ratcliffe and co. will be no doubt the subject of the usual chants, as well as more banners and flags.
What do you make of the latest plans, Man United fans?
Nothing will ever be quite as bold as the infamous Old Trafford break-in from 2022 (Credit: The Manc)
More Greater Manchester football matches called off as Storm Goretti sets in
Danny Jones
Yet more scheduled football matches in Greater Manchester and the surrounding regions have been postponed and/or cancelled due to Storm Goretti.
The increasingly cold, blustery and icy conditions moving over from France and across more parts of the UK have already caused schools to close, flights to be grounded, and plenty more disruption.
Another such inconvenience has come in the form of live sports, large swathes of which now look like they simply won’t be taking place.
One of the latest to be called off is Salford City‘s upcoming game against Swindon Town in the FA Cup this weekend, with various other games involving teams up and down the footballing pyramid now facing uncertainty over whether their third-round fixtures will go ahead as planned.
Ironically, this is just the tip of the iceberg, if you’ll pardon the very obvious pun.
Another game that was called off late last week, between Chadderton and FC Isle of Man, is yet to be rescheduled; the same is true of Rochdale AFC’s meeting with Brackley Town, Radcliffe v Oxford City, as well as games involving Bury, Stockport Town, Irlam, Cheadle Town, Prestwich Heys and more.
Other nearby outfits, such as Chorley, Warrington Rylands and Ramsbottom United, just to name a few, are also still unsure of when their next game will be.
In many cases, it is simply a matter of the grounds being largely or completely frozen and deemed unfit for use following pitch inspections.
Oldham Athletic – which has already been hit with plenty of snow and frost – yesterday confirmed that their Notts County clash wouldn’t be going ahead due to that very reason.
With winds of up to 90 miles per hour also being reported, yellow and even red weather warnings have been issued across various parts of the country, with people being urged to check their routes home from work by local authorities.
Storm Goretti should start calming down this evening (Fri, 9 January) and into Saturday morning, but the after-effects could still play havoc over the next few days.
For instance, over in Cheshire, Macclesfield FC are going so far as to call on nearby residents to help clear their playing surface from heavy snowfall.
So, if you’re in the area and fancy helping out, they could sure do with your help.
VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED
Macclesfield FC are once again requesting the help of the fanbase and the local community to help clear the remainder of the compacted snow from the surrounding areas of the https://t.co/fL99QEEJ4D Stadium.
The Manc -
25th September 2020 
