Just a few months ago, Greater Manchester unveiled its vision for the next decade – a thriving city region where everyone can live a good life, heralding a new era of economic growth. Part of this was looking to become a second city to rival any other on the planet by 2050, including underground transport services, and now Mayor Andy Burnham has spoken about a third new underground tunnel proposal which could become reality for Manchester.
According to the previous announcement, Manchester is set to gain new underground transport services and a flagship underground station at Manchester Piccadilly. Andy Burnham previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the two proposed tunnels could connect to a new underground Piccadilly station, criss-crossing under town from the south-west to north-east and from south-east to north-west.
A report at the most recent meeting said: “There is also a north-south gap in the rapid transit network (with no existing tram or train lines) running broadly from the Northern Gateway to the Airport via a number of hospitals, universities and associated facilities.
“This axis, which would not directly incorporate any existing Metrolink or National Rail lines, could also be investigated for its potential as a wholly segregated underground metro.”
The report said early development work “will complement, respond to and integrate with the existing proposals for east-west underground connections as part of the Liverpool Manchester Railway“.
Proposed Manchester underground map
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This would potentially mean an underground tunnel being created from the Northern Gateway – meaning the Manchester Victoria/NOMA area – to Manchester Airport, perhaps via St Mary’s Hospital, The Christie or Wythenshawe Hospital, plus the University of Manchester and surrounding amenities.
Previous attempts at an underground network in Manchester
Manchester previously considered an underground rail system in the 1970s, dubbed the Picc-Vic line, which would have connected Piccadilly and Victoria stations – which, let’s face it, we would love right now. However the plans were shelved after the council failed to secure funding for the project from Westminster, and instead efforts were poured into reviving the city’s tram network.