Manchester is the UKs second city after London and like the capital boasts a large transport
network with many different ways of getting around the city:
Metrolink - The Metrolink has been running since April 1992 and has now become one of the quickest
methods of getting in and out of Manchester and across the city centre. Trams currently run from
Bury in the north of Manchester through the city centre and to Altrincham and Eccles to the south
and west of Greater Manchester. In the city centre there are seven tram stops including two at major
railway stations, Victoria and Piccadilly, providing fast transport links to the rest of the
country. The trams run regularly and are very quick to get into the centre with the longest journey
being the tram from Bury to Manchester which only takes 25 minutes. The trams also provide a quick
link to those who arrive at Piccadilly or Victoria stations and need to travel across town to get to
the other to carry on their journey.
Bus - Manchester has several major bus station situated on Chorlton Street, Shudehill Interchange
and Piccadilly gardens. These are all situated within walking distance to Manchester's two major
railway stations, Piccadilly and Victoria. All three bus stations are also very close to a Metro
stop. Manchester runs a series of free buses which people can jump on and off at any designated stop
and Manchester features a series of bus lanes on roads in and out of the city to assist the buses in
keeping on time.
Train - With Manchester being the UK's second city it has the busiest major station outside London
in England for passenger use. With links to every major town and city in the country. Piccadilly?s
main link is with London Euston with a journey time of two and a half hours.
Car - Manchester?s road network is busy, but this is understandable with almost 3 million people
living within the county boundary. Manchester does feature the M60 ring road which circles the city
enabling easy access to various roads into Manchester meaning that drivers don?t have to drive
through the centre and can go around and in on a different road which can be quicker for them.
Plane - Manchester Airport has the fourth busiest airport in the United Kingdom and is the busiest
outside London handling over 22 million passengers a year. The airport features good train and bus
links with the city centre meaning people transfer quickly to the city; this is very useful for
those who are attending meetings in the city centre.
As you can see above, Manchester's transport network is very well linked together with many
interchanges to assist passengers go from one type of transport to the other quickly so they can
continue their journey with a minimum of disruption.
Manchester does have a series of proposed changes and improvements to the current transport network.
Mainly the tram network is going to be extended so it reaches more towns surrounding Manchester and
also the airport bringing another valuable link to help people get where they need to go quicker.
Also planned is an increase in the amount of trams which run along the lines with new trams being
bought to run alongside the existing stock.
Improvements to the train network are also proposed with the aim of more carriages on a lot of
services during peak times. Also new indicator boards are proposed at stations to give better
information to passengers so there is no confusion over where the train arriving is going to and
when it will arrive.
