Greybeard33
Established Member
TfGM has published "Our Prospectus for Rail - Greater Manchester’s vision to transform rail travel to support future growth and prosperity for all." The 24 page document can be downloaded from https://news.tfgm.com/resources/gm-prospectus-for-rail.
The prospectus covers the timeframe up to 2035 and is too wide ranging to summarise all the proposals in this post. However, it does incorporate many ideas that have previously been advocated by contributors to this forum. These include:
Note: this thread is strictly for discussion of the merits of, and problems with, the TfGM proposals for the GM National Rail lines and services. Anyone who wishes to put forward their own alternative ideas should post them in an existing or new thread in the Speculative Ideas section, e.g. https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...duce-losses-in-the-northern-franchise.191880/
The prospectus covers the timeframe up to 2035 and is too wide ranging to summarise all the proposals in this post. However, it does incorporate many ideas that have previously been advocated by contributors to this forum. These include:
- "GM Rail" - local control of Greater Manchester suburban services and stations, similar to Merseyrail
- Move towards eventual 4tph metro frequencies throughout GM, with 8-car trains (platforms extended where necessary; HS2 and NPR releasing capacity)
- Simpler, more reliable, service patterns, with good connections at interchanges, instead of low frequency through services from everywhere to everywhere
- Standardised GM rolling stock
- Integrated ticketing across modes (National Rail, Metrolink and bus)
- Castlefield corridor capacity improvement (Piccadilly P15/16, Oxford Road remodelling)
- Longer term, a metro tunnel or tunnels under the city centre
- Transpennine Route Upgrade to include electrification throughout
- Stockport capacity improvement, including widening the cutting between Stockport and Edgeley Jn to reduce conflicts
- Tram-train pathfinder projects: Oldham to Heywood via Rochdale, Manchester to Hale via Sale, Airport to Wilmslow
- If pathfinders successful, possible further tram-train routes include Wigan via Atherton, Glossop, Marple via Bredbury and via Hyde, Warrington via the CLC, Airport to Stockport and to Timperley via Baguley.
Note: this thread is strictly for discussion of the merits of, and problems with, the TfGM proposals for the GM National Rail lines and services. Anyone who wishes to put forward their own alternative ideas should post them in an existing or new thread in the Speculative Ideas section, e.g. https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...duce-losses-in-the-northern-franchise.191880/
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