Greater Manchester Prepares Milestone Rail Integration into Bee Network as 17 Stations Adopt Tap-in Tap-out Ticketing Alongside £150 Million Metrolink Renewal

First Rail Lines Set to Join the Integrated Bee Network

MANCHESTER, Greater Manchester — In a historic milestone for public transport in the North of England, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Mayor Andy Burnham have confirmed that local rail services will officially integrate into the publicly controlled Bee Network on December 13, 2026. Marking the first stage of heavy rail integration following the franchising of local bus networks, the commuter railway lines connecting Manchester to Glossop and Stalybridge will be incorporated into the unified network.

The landmark rollout introduces frictionless contactless 'tap-in, tap-out' bank card ticketing across 17 railway stations. Passengers will benefit from coordinated multimodal fare caps across trains, buses, and Metrolink trams, alongside synchronized timetable connections and automatic reciprocal ticket acceptance during unplanned rail disruptions.

£150 Million Metrolink Modernisation Ensures Network Resilience

Supporting the rail expansion, Greater Manchester is completing an extensive £150 million capital renewal program across the Metrolink light rail network. Engineering crews have executed extensive track renewals, substation power enhancements, and signaling modernizations on key routes including the Altrincham, Eccles, and Trafford Centre branches.

The continuous track improvements ensure that the UK's largest light rail system can reliably accommodate soaring ridership figures, delivering smooth ride quality, minimizing wheel wear, and eliminating signaling bottlenecks across more than 60 miles of track.

Breaking Ground on Golborne Station and Mayoral Regeneration Zones

Heavy rail accessibility is being further expanded with active construction on the brand-new Golborne railway station in Wigan borough—representing Greater Manchester's first new railway station in more than a quarter-century. Once operational, Golborne will restore direct passenger rail links into central Manchester, cutting peak-hour traffic along the heavily congested M6 and A580 motorway corridors.

In tandem with new transit infrastructure, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has established new Mayoral Development Corporations (MDCs) in Oldham, Bolton, Middleton, and Ashton-under-Lyne/Stalybridge, leveraging transit connectivity to unlock thousands of high-quality brownfield homes, public amenities, and commercial enterprise zones.

Delivering London-Style Integrated Transit by 2030

Under the statutory Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2050, regional planners intend to incorporate every local railway station across the city-region into the Bee Network by 2030. Regional leaders emphasized that single-ticketing convenience, regulated affordable fares, and seamless interchanges between trains, trams, and active travel routes are driving economic productivity and environmental sustainability across Greater Manchester.