With the Metrolink network in Manchester City Centre expected to reach capacity on the surface, plans to go underground have been part of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy for a while. Whilst the construction of tunnels is currently unfunded and a fair way in the distance, TfGM are attempting to get ahead of the game by starting an early feasibility study into the viability of their construction.
As part of a recent Bee Network Committee meeting, a report was prepared by Chris Barnes, Network Director at TfGM, who asked for approval to release £375.000 worth of funding to cover early feasibility and demand studies to inform a subsequent Strategic Outline Case for tunnelled metro in Greater Manchester. This funding would come from the Rapid Transit Extensions package.
It is part of the Greater Manchester Rapid Transit Strategy that options to include underground tramways/railways/metros in Manchester City Centre would be investigated and this is the first step towards that.
The new report says: “Tunnelled options are likely to be needed to avoid our existing surface transport infrastructure becoming a constraint to Greater Manchester’s social and economic development – to enable good growth.”
Three options for routes are currently being considered:
- South-West to North-East – aligned with the busiest Metrolink lines (Altrincham and Bury). Even after longer, walkthrough vehicles are implemented as part of the “Next Generation Vehicle” roll-out, the capacity of Metrolink is likely to be exceeded by mid-century. A Metrolink relief tunnel could roughly double the capacity of the network (allowing even longer vehicles and higher frequencies on the lines that use the new tunnel, and freeing up capacity on the remaining lines that continue to use the existing surface network to run higher frequencies and new services)
- North-West to South-East – aligned with National Rail Castlefield Corridor and Salford Crescent to Piccadilly. To include a National Rail relief tunnel which could deliver high-frequency, high-capacity services using an approach similar to the Paris RER, Munich S-Bahn and London’s Elizabeth line and Thameslink network.
- North-South – aligned with a gap in the rapid transit system that currently has no tram or train lines, running roughly from the Northern Gateway to the Airport via a number of hospitals, universities and associated facilities. This could be investigated as a wholly segregated underground metro.
It is planned that the £375,000 will be used for early feasibility studies and demand studies, and to allow work to take place with the wider rail industry to explore these options for going underground in Greater Manchester.