Plans to create Greater Manchester’s own London Underground-style transport system have been backed by mayor Bev Craig, with 2050 eyed as a potential opening date.
The scheme could cost tens of billions and take decades to build – with the need for government backing – but has been described by Craig as the “only option” for the county’s future.
Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM) timeline for the project could see detailed plans and a business case ready by 2030, with a push to start building by around 2040 and a 2050 opening date.
Craig said: “In Greater Manchester we’ve started planning for what future is possible, and that means going underground.”
The idea was separate from demands from city leaders in Manchester for an underground railway station at Manchester Piccadilly, which would play a part in boosting railway travel supporting the £45bn Northern Powerhouse Rail project.
But a new underground station at Piccadilly is seen as an essential “first step” ahead of wider plans for Greater Manchester, including the potential for a future underground tube network.
Bosses at TfGM have already spent more than £300,000 on early feasibility and demand studies over future options after it became a key aim of former mayor Andy Burnham.
Craig said Greater Manchester was the fastest growing city region in the country and needed “a transport network that helps us go even further, not one that holds us back”.
“A new, modern underground station at Piccadilly is an essential first step in creating jobs and boosting major regeneration here,” she added.
Any tunnelling for a future underground transport system would initially be focused around central Manchester, but a mix of options for how it could work are actively being looked at, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.