Travel & Tourism

Greater Manchester unveils latest vision to bring local rail under the Bee Network

The ambitious designs on unified regional rail and public transport continues.

Danny Jones - 28th March 2025

Mayor Andy Burnham and fellow local leaders have unveiled the latest plans behind the vision to bring the Greater Manchester and nearby train links under the Bee Network.

For starters, the plan is to add a total of eight rail lines to the ever-growing public transport system.

Burnham and co. previously announced the plans back at the start of the year, setting out a five-year schedule for the next phases of the Bee Network expansion, but now we have a clearer look at what that will look like.

Posting the latest schematic on social media this Friday, the Greater Manchester Mayor celebrated the unified tap-and-go service for buses and trams at the start of the week and has now ended it by sharing the next steps with the 10 boroughs.

We started the week by integrating buses and trams into a single tap-and-go system.

We end it by confirming our plan to add eight rail lines into the @BeeNetwork – starting next year.https://t.co/3aaCoFP7Xy pic.twitter.com/k6WJFgGUR9
— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) March 28, 2025

The update is in response to the UK government’s ‘A Railway Fit for Britain’s Future‘ reform bill, the national consultation of which is well underway and closes to local authorities and the public at large on Tuesday, 15 April.

The overall aim is for Greater Manchester to reach an agreement with the government in devolving power to Mayoral Combined Authorities when it comes to the planning and developing of local infrastructure and train services.

Put simply, the goal is to achieve local responsibility and accountability for rail travel as the city-region looks to continue establishing its own ‘London-style’ public transport framework (i.e. the Oyster card which is valid for buses tubes, local railway and so on).

In addition to this, they are hoping to make new arrangements for funding, fares and services through the Railway Bill, which would hopefully see rail fares in and around Greater Manchester, as well as neighbouring areas like parts of Cheshire and Derbyshire, fall under the Bee Network cap.

Once again, this regional push is a reaction to the country’s various rail companies’ continuing struggle to provide both affordable and reliable train travel.

Rail fares in England have now risen by 4.6% despite unreliability of services

Sub-quality rail services in the North, especially, are a big driving force behind the plans to loop train travel into the Bee Network.

Detailing a three-phase plan to carry out these city-region specific changes as the Labour Party looks to establish Great British Railways – a new body bringing track and train together – local authorities are already working closely with the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT).

Speaking on the masterplan, which culminates in a full ‘Bee Network Rail by 2030, Burnham has dubbed it “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rewire how the railways are run”, and one that can set a standard for other areas up and down the country.

The Mayor went on to add: “We’re already delivering change in Greater Manchester and have seen the positive benefit that greater local control and accountability for our tram, bus and active travel has had, with increasing numbers of people getting on board – but rail is the missing piece of the jigsaw…

“A Bee Network fare cap – including rail – would mean that people commuting into the city at peak times from Glossop could pay a cap of around £14 including return train travel as well as trips on buses and trams.

“Devolution is working for people in Greater Manchester, but we know that many other areas are at different stages of their journey […] We know the government share our ambition to restore confidence and get more people choosing the train, and we’ve been really encouraged by our conversations so far on how things can be done differently.”

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Featured Images — daniel0685 (via Flickr)/The Manc Group