'Taking over the trains is going to BEE exciting'

MAYOR'S VISION FOR HOW RAILWAYS COULD WORK AS PART OF TRANSPORT SYSTEM

- JOSEPH TIMAN

ANDY Burnham has new powers. And the Mayor of Greater Manchester has set out how he intends to use them to transform trains across the region.

Under the government's new devolution plans, Mr Burnham will have a formal role in running the railways. This includes more influence over timetables and could, potentially, allow his authority to control some stations and the land around them.

The precise details of exactly how much power and influence Mr Burnham will have are yet to be set out. But the Labour mayor has said that he is 'excited' about the prospect of taking over railway stations and increasing the frequency of trains running in Manchester.

It comes weeks before Greater Manchester reaches the final stage of bringing all buses in the cityregion under public control. Mr Burnham has promised that his next step will be to bring trains into the Bee Network his London-style public transport system.

Earlier this year, ahead of his reelection as mayor, Mr Burnham announced that plans to bring rail services into the Bee Network will be brought forward with eight lines to be fully integrated by 2028. This would allow him to set daily caps on bus, tram and train fares.