Manchester’s Transport Update

Here is this week’s news for transport in and around Greater Manchester.

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to Manchester World for your weekly transport update. The roads and

00:04transport links have been heavily impacted by snow and ice over the last week or so,

00:07but things are, hopefully, looking much better on the weather front this week. So, fingers

00:11crossed for significantly less disruption this time around, eh?

00:14Now, while we're on the topic of disruption, however, we may as well talk about the study

00:17from car insurance company TempCover, who found last week that Manchester has the fifth

00:22slowest roads in the UK. Other slow cities include places like Liverpool, Southampton

00:27and Bristol. But in Manchester, drivers average just 15.3mph, and that's even less at 13mph

00:34on the A roads. This is due to rush hour traffic and roadworks slowing the flow of vehicles.

00:40Public transport now and two train stations in Greater Manchester are set to be upgraded

00:43over the course of 2025, which will cause some disruption. Salford Central and Salford

00:48Crescent are both on the slate for significant improvements, and will be closed for stretches

00:52of the year to allow work to take place. At Salford Crescent, a third platform is being

00:56built, which represents an investment of around £21m from Network Rail. It's a key station

01:02for train links to Preston, any students who attend Salford University, and it also provides

01:07access to Manchester Airport. A section of University Road West will be closed for around

01:11a year to allow work to be carried out safely, but other disruption should be, hopefully,

01:15minimal. As for Salford Central, it will close for two months between February and April,

01:20as Network Rail aim to make the station significantly more accessible for commuters.

01:25Finally, on transport for this week, Manchester's iconic Magic Bus has now ceased operations

01:30after serving the city for nearly 30 years. The bus was known for its affordability and

01:36reliability, with thousands of passengers transported in the city each week. With Stagecoach

01:41Manchester now handing over its services to the B network last week, Magic Bus won't

01:46be running again after clocking up an incredible 67 million miles on its route since 1996.

01:53A Manchester icon, the Magic Bus will always be remembered, even as the city ushers in

01:57a new, exciting era with B network.