New Manchester underground will be ‘like London’s – but without the trains’

If you’ve ever tried walking down Market Street on a Saturday afternoon – or anywhere in town when the Christmas markets are on – you’ll know it’s not just Manchester’s roads which are becoming increasingly congested.

Our city centre streets are getting more and more crowded, too.

Manchester’s pavements are some of the most overcrowded in the country and getting around the city centre is becoming increasingly difficult and time consuming.

Many of them are becoming gridlocked due to a growing population and a huge increase in the number of visitors to the city.

The streets of Manchester city centre just weren’t designed to accommodate the huge number of people who want to use them, especially on Saturday afternoons and in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Pavement rage

Walking is supposed to be a healthy option, but stress levels are going through the roof amongst busy shoppers and workers as they struggle against the wave of pedestrians.

The average walking speed in the city centre has dropped from just under 3.8 mph to less than 1.8mph – and it’s even slower at the busiest times. The incidence of ‘pavement rage’ has increased by 42% in the last year alone.

The crowded streets are bad news for emergency vehicles and Deliveroo couriers, too.

More growth busier streets

And things are set to get even worse. The next decade will see sustained growth with a further 40,000 people choosing to live in the city centre, increasing its population to 100,000 by 2026.

In the past, transport bosses have come up with some innovative and unusual ideas for reducing congestion and managing the flow of pedestrians including introducing special fast lanes for walkers, banning walking in groups and prohibiting the use of mobile phones in the most congested parts of the city centre.

Underground walkways

Now Transport for Greater Manchester have given the green light to the construction of an underground network of footpaths and moving walkways which will enable pedestrians to move around the city centre quickly without getting stuck in pedestrian traffic.

The first phase of the project will be the Bee Line, a tunnel connecting Piccadilly Station and St Ann’s Square, which will feature a moving walkway or travelator alongside a standard pedestrian footpath.

Bee Line

The Bee Line is so called because it will be constructed in a straight line between the two locations and will be part of the Bee Network, Manchester’s integrated transport network of bus, tram, cycling, and walking routes. It will be a partnership with Chinese construction and transit company Yúrén Jié.

The walkway, which will be similar to travelators found at airports, will move at 5mph – meaning it will take less than 10 minutes to cover the 0.8 mile between Piccadilly Station and St Ann’s Square.  Pedestrians will be able to leave and join the walkway at Piccadilly Gardens.

Each journey will cost £1 with a season ticket for unlimited journeys costing £10. Construction will start in the summer, subject to approval of government funding.

Picc-Vic Line

The project, which will also include the construction of a pedestrian tunnel connecting Piccadilly Station and Victoria Station – the mythical Picc-Vic line but without the trains – is expected to be completed by 2030. It will open incrementally as each phase is completed. Work on Phase 1, Piccadilly to St Ann’s Square, will start in the summer.

“The Manchester Underground will be like the London Underground but without the trains,” said a TfGM spokesperson.

“This project will enable people to get to their destinations more quickly. It will also ease pressure on trams and reduce the number of accidents on the bustling streets of Manchester city centre.

“We want 50% of all journeys in Greater Manchester to be made by walking, cycling and public transport by 2040. This will mean one million more sustainable journeys every day, enabling us to deliver a healthier, greener and more productive city-region”.

An official announcement will be made at a press conference tomorrow (April 2) at 10am.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest single moving walkway in a city is in Sydney, Australia and is just over 204 metres in length.