Waterborne
One legacy of the industrial revolution is an extensive network of canals: the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal, Rochdale Canal, Bridgewater Canal, Ashton Canal, and the Leigh Branch of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Most of these canals were constructed for transporting commodities such as coal and iron at a time when vehicular transport was not present. Most of these canals are now used for recreation.
The Manchester Ship Canal is the only purpose built ship canal in the United Kingdom, and upon opening in 1894 was the largest ship navigation canal in the world allowing for ships with a length of up to 600 feet to navigate its 36 mile route. The deteriorating state of the Irwell Mersey Navigation and the excessive dues charged by the Port of Liverpool fuelled influential Mancunian businessmen such as Daniel Adamson to find a solution, and consequently the idea of a ship canal was formed. The ship canal never became the success its patrons had wished, and traffic peaked in the 1960s. The canal fell into a state of disrepair, but since the 1990s there has been renewed efforts to use the canal more as a transport route. Freight is once again being carried on the Ship Canal. The ship canal is also used for leisure, and a scheme to use the Manchester Ship Canal and River Irwell as a waterway to transport commuters has also been envisaged. A trip from MediaCityUK at Salford Quays to Spinningfields in Manchester city centre it is hoped would take 15 to 20 minutes. Manchester Water Taxis Ltd. are heading the proposals and aim to start operations by 2012 as the MediaCityUK move starts to take shape.
Read more about this topic: Transport In Manchester