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I love the train to London other than the fact it takes about 4 and a half hours back on a Sunday night, stopping in Milton Keynes for 25 minutes and crawling through the secondary tracks of Brum. Still only £37 return with a railcard I think thats pretty good. If I could be bothered to book in advance it could possibly be even less.
Anyway I have 3 ideas for improving transport within Gtr Manchester:
1. Run the buses like they do in London, sure theyre privitised still, but regulated. The 192 bus wars, and the free for all on the 42 show how stupid the situation is. Even the lonely planet guide points out how bewildering it is for us never mind tourists. Regulation of some sort is needed. It would also stop you having to buy passes for multiple companies or getting a £47 bus card. I think the equivilent card in London costs about half as much and the buses are 100000x better and run all night.
2. Better organisation of Manchester's suburban railways. Finishing the Castlefield Curve and the little bit between Ardwick and Sportcity being relaid so we can have a circle line around the centre with trains running in from the sticks, around the circle and out to somewhere else, like they have in Deutchland. Would work a treat.
3. Electrify the Deansgate to Preston stretch of the West Coast mainline so that Manchester has through trains to Glasgow rather than being on a spur. I dont know if we'd need to add another platform to Piccadilly (perhaps on the site of Mayfair Station) but if it was possible than having 1 service an hour running onto Glasgow rather than terminating would be good for Manchester I think:
London - Stoke - Manchester - Bolton - Preston - Carlisle - Glasgow
Oh and Ive thought of a 4. Sort out Mosley Street, get rid of the buses or regulate them better so they stop blocking the bloody trams. The amount of times Ive been stuck there waiting for 30 minutes because the buses are gridlocked or one is blocking the track. Infact building a couple more Shudehill type interchanges and banning buses from the very centre of Manchester would be perfect. Build one for the South and West of Manchester, Shudehill for the North and a small one near Piccadilly for the 192 , 216 and routes to Hyde would be perfect. Then only run those little free buses around the centre for connections. Ahhh it would be bliss.
Anyway I have 3 ideas for improving transport within Gtr Manchester:
1. Run the buses like they do in London, sure theyre privitised still, but regulated. The 192 bus wars, and the free for all on the 42 show how stupid the situation is. Even the lonely planet guide points out how bewildering it is for us never mind tourists. Regulation of some sort is needed. It would also stop you having to buy passes for multiple companies or getting a £47 bus card. I think the equivilent card in London costs about half as much and the buses are 100000x better and run all night.
2. Better organisation of Manchester's suburban railways. Finishing the Castlefield Curve and the little bit between Ardwick and Sportcity being relaid so we can have a circle line around the centre with trains running in from the sticks, around the circle and out to somewhere else, like they have in Deutchland. Would work a treat.
3. Electrify the Deansgate to Preston stretch of the West Coast mainline so that Manchester has through trains to Glasgow rather than being on a spur. I dont know if we'd need to add another platform to Piccadilly (perhaps on the site of Mayfair Station) but if it was possible than having 1 service an hour running onto Glasgow rather than terminating would be good for Manchester I think:
London - Stoke - Manchester - Bolton - Preston - Carlisle - Glasgow
Oh and Ive thought of a 4. Sort out Mosley Street, get rid of the buses or regulate them better so they stop blocking the bloody trams. The amount of times Ive been stuck there waiting for 30 minutes because the buses are gridlocked or one is blocking the track. Infact building a couple more Shudehill type interchanges and banning buses from the very centre of Manchester would be perfect. Build one for the South and West of Manchester, Shudehill for the North and a small one near Piccadilly for the 192 , 216 and routes to Hyde would be perfect. Then only run those little free buses around the centre for connections. Ahhh it would be bliss.
