Its place in railway history is assured because of its part in the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the world's first inter-city railway which took goods and passengers to local cotton mills and factories in the 19th century.
But will Greater Manchester's railway heritage and transport connections be strong enough for one of its towns to be named the host site for the new headquarters of Great British Railways, the new overarching body that will administer the infrastructure and running of much of the UK network from 2023?
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps was joined by noted rail buff Michael Portillo to launch a contest to host the new HQ, which will be based outside of London and bring a number of high-skilled jobs to the winning location. With a shortlist to be drawn up in May the public will be involved in the final choice of location, but the government retains an executive power of decision before it reveals the winner this summer.
