The first 14 train stations in Greater Manchester are due to join the Bee Network in December, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed. They are on the line between Manchester Piccadilly and Glossop and Hadfield, and passengers there will be able to pay with contactless tap in, tap out.

The 14 stations are Ardwick, Ashburys, Broadbottom, Dinting, Fairfield, Flowery Field, Glossop, Godley, Gorton, Guide Bridge, Hadfield, Hattersley, Manchester Piccadilly and Newton for Hyde. The Manc reported the list on 28 October.

With tap in, tap out, passengers touch a contactless card, phone or watch on a reader at the start and end of a train journey instead of buying a ticket first. TfGM says it will work out the best rail fare automatically, up to a weekly cap. On Bee Network buses and trams, tap and go is for full-fare adults only, and child tickets are sold separately on the Bee Network app.

Work on the 14 stations is already under way. A report to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority's Bee Network Committee on 29 October said CCTV, help points, signs and Bee Network branding were being put in place at the same time as the contactless system.

The same report said a new one-day Train + Tram + Bus ticket will be introduced before the end of the year, priced at £17 for adults and £8.50 for children. It will allow travel at any time on trains, trams and buses in Greater Manchester and will be sold as a paper ticket on buses, at tram stops, at Bee Network travelshops and at rail stations.

Which stations come next

Fifteen more stations are planned to join in March 2027, taking contactless rail payment to 29 stations. They are Ashton-under-Lyne, Belle Vue, Bredbury, Brinnington, Hyde Central, Hyde North, Manchester Victoria, Marple, Reddish North, Romiley, Rose Hill Marple, Ryder Brow, Stalybridge, Strines and Woodley.

Some earlier TfGM and GMCA documents said 17 stations would get contactless payment in December 2026, including stations on the Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge line. TfGM's published station list and the 29 October committee report both give 14 for December, with the Stalybridge line stations in the March 2027 group.

After that, TfGM plans to bring more lines in by the end of 2027, including local services to Manchester Airport and to Cheadle Hulme and Middlewood via Stockport, followed by lines serving Rochdale, Bolton, Wigan and Golborne by the end of 2028. All 96 stations in Greater Manchester are planned to be part of the Bee Network by 2030. TfGM says all timings depend on ongoing work with the Department for Transport, Network Rail, Shadow Great British Railways and the train operators.

Sources: TfGM, Greater Manchester rail stations joining the Bee Network; TfGM, The Bee Network; GMCA Bee Network Committee papers, 29 October 2026; The Manc. This article was produced with the help of AI tools and checked by an editor against the sources above.