Greater Manchester to bring rail lines into Bee Network from December 2026

By 2028 passengers are to be able to use buses, trams and trains with a single bank card (tap in, tap out), similar to London; Northern will run most of the services on the Network Rail network.

Greater Manchester's mayor, Andy Burnham, presented plans shortly before 16 December 2025 to bring rail lines step by step into the Bee Network, the bus and tram system coordinated by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). The first two lines (Manchester Victoria–Stalybridge and Manchester Piccadilly–Glossop) are due to start on 13 December 2026; a year later the Manchester Airport, Alderley Edge and Buxton (via Stockport) routes are to follow, and by the end of 2028 Rochdale and three routes to Wigan. The first class 323 train painted in the yellow Bee Network livery was unveiled at Manchester Piccadilly; with tap-in, tap-out ticketing the region is set to become the first outside London with an integrated transport system (LOK Report, 16 Dec 2025).