Sure, we’re pretty lucky in Manchester that transport is, when you think about it, actually half decent – particularly with our new and shiny Bee Network. But let’s face it. We always want more. And what if that more was Manchester’s very own London Underground-style network? The dream.
The transport system in the Capital is held in high regard for a reason. It quickly and efficiently connects the mammoth city – helping its residents and visitors get from one side to the other in the easiest manner possible. Best of all, in 99%* of cases, without the need for a car, bus, or other alternate form of transport. *Ok I made that stat up, but we move.
Now, of course, we’re lucky to even have the tram network that we do – given many cities of a similar size don’t have that at all (sorry, Glasgow) – but let’s dream for a second. What if, one day, we did finally get our own Underground network. One that connected the whole of Greater Manchester in a way like never before, finally saving us from having to get three buses and a tram to get from North to South.
Well, here’s what that would look like:
Created by Mancunian and self-confessed ‘transport and architecture nerd’ Ed Howe, the example map shows how Manchester could look if it had its own underground transport – simply overlaying the city-region with London’s existing tube map.
Now, of course, this isn’t as precise as it would be should Manchester ever have this, however, it does show just how easy it could be to travel from the likes of Bury to Didsbury Village on the ‘Northern Line’. Or even Middleton to Stockport on the ‘Overground’. Imagine how quick it could finally be to get from town to the Trafford Centre without having to haul ass to the back end of Deansgate?
The map was created by using the geographically-accurate map of Manchester, and matching it with the appropriate tube stop. Because of the sheer size of London’s Underground, the map managed to span the areas of Greater Manchester, too, including Bolton, Saddleworth, and Hale – whose closest city is, of course, Manchester. Imagine the economic growth and increased job opportunities, eh?
Ed shared the map on Twitter (now X) earlier this month, and it garnered a whopping 2.2M views and over 2,800 likes – alongside comments of glee at the idea, such as “It would be so easy to get to work” and “Gosh if only we had a transport network like this, it would be amazing”.
What d’ya say, Burnham?