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 city centre has major bus stations situated on Chorlton Street, Piccadilly Gardens and Shudehill Interchange. These are all situated within walking distance to either Victoria or Piccadilly station and very close to a Metro stop. Manchester city centre has a series of free buses which people can jump on and off at any designated stop. The roads in and out of the city centre have a series of bus lanes 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 understandably busy considering Manchester's size. Drivers can make use of the M60 ring road which circles the city enabling easy aces 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 is the fourth busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the busiest outside London handling over 22 million passengers a year. The airport has good train and bus links with the city centre meaning people can quickly get from the airport to the centre, 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 in Greater Manchester and also will extend to 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 ones to bring the total of trams to over 100.
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.
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For more information on the proposed transport improvements partly funded by the Manchester congestion charge, please visit http://www.gmfuturetransport.co.uk
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