Bombarier tram 4059 in purple livery awaits King Phillippe for the inaugural ride on 21 September. (STIB)
Just three weeks after the integration of the final batch of bus services into the Bee franchised network, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has unveiled a three-phase plan to bring commuter rail services and stations into the Bee network by 2030. An integrated fare system with tap-in tap-out ticketing and branded trains are promised. The first phase on services from Manchester to Glossop and Sea;ybridge will take effect by December 2026 with all eight commuter rail lines and 64 stations in the network by the end of 2030. It is hoped to open a new station at Golborne near Wigan in 2027. At least 1.3M additional journeys/year should be attracted to the Bee rail network. 
 
Andy Burnham said, “Our rail system today is acting as a brake on growth and, as the UK’s fastest growing city-region, Greater Manchester deserves better. We need a railway that is reliable and fully integrated with the rest of the Bee Network to drive growth and deliver new homes with public transport connections on the doorstep. Building on the success of bringing our buses back under local control, we’re planning a phased approach to bringing eight commuter lines and their stations into the Bee Network. It will start with lines between the city centre and Glossop and Stalybridge and then expand each year between now and 2028. Our plan puts passengers first by delivering a simplified, joined-up public transport network, with better services, stations and overall experience. Only by making travel by train more reliable, simpler, flexible and accessible to everyone, will we convince more people to leave the car at home and make the switch to the Bee Network. Delivering change on the railways is notoriously complex, but our phased plan has been drawn up with and has the backing of the rail industry. We’ll continue to work with government - as Great British Rail is established – to support them on the national reform of the railways, enacting the rail powers outlined in the English Devolution White Paper and supporting the Government’s agenda.” 
 
Photo: A map of the complete Bee network achievable by 2030. (Transport for Greater Manchester) 
 
Bombarier tram 4059 in purple livery awaits King Phillippe for the inaugural ride on 21 September. (STIB)
 
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