Stockport tram confirmed as Manchester gets £2.5bn transport fund

The new tram stop in Sandhills is set to form part of Manchester’s £3.8bn Victoria North project, which will see the creation of a ‘new town’ consisting of 15,000 homes that will be built across 155 hectares from Angel Meadow in the city centre to Collyhurst.

Elsewhere, 1,000 new electric Bee Network buses will be purchased by 2030 as bosses aim to achieve a 100% electric bus fleet, alongside plans for new city centre and Leigh interchanges. Tram-train hybrids that can travel on both Metrolink and rail tracks are also included in the plans, as is the commitment to integrate rail into the Bee Network.

A snapshot of how the £2.5bn plans

• In Stockport, Greater Manchester will begin construction of a new Metrolink line, bringing Bee Network trams to the town centre
• Oldham, Rochdale, Heywood and Bury will be connected to each other as we begin delivery of new tram-train services
• North Manchester, Bury and Oldham will receive new Metrolink stops to support delivery of thousands of new homes
• Leigh and central Manchester will see the creation of new transport interchanges, with Bury’s new – and the city-region’s first operationally carbon neutral – interchange completed
• Across Greater Manchester, local rail services will be integrated into the Bee Network, fully joining up train travel with buses, trams and active travel
• Town centres across the city region (e.g. Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, Middleton, Stretford) will see new public transport and active travel infrastructure to support ongoing regeneration

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “This is a game-changing moment that will underpin Greater Manchester’s green growth for years to come. Building on our strong track record, we can now move at pace to deliver the next phase of the Bee Network – creating the UK’s first fully electric, zero emission integrated public transport system by 2030.

“With a pipeline of major transport projects better connecting our towns and cities, and local rail lines brought into the Bee Network, our communities will be the first outside London to be served by fully joined-up bike, bus, tram and train travel.

“Greater Manchester has had a decade of growth faster than the UK average. This funding – together with our devolved decision-making powers – can be the key to unlocking even more growth in the decade to come.

“It’s a major boost for our own plans to deliver £10bn of investment over the next 10 years, build thousands of new homes, create skilled jobs, and open up new opportunities right across our city-region.”

Timescales for the above projects are yet to be revealed, though the funding injection covers 2027/2032.