The Leader of Manchester City Council has welcomed the Government’s announcement of its commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail.
A plan to improve east-west connections across the North including through a new Liverpool-Manchester line.
This includes £1.1 billion in the current spending review period to crack on with developing the Liverpool-Manchester scheme and complementary electrification schemes between Leeds-Bradford and Leeds-Sheffield. The Government has allocated funding of £45 billion to deliver the combined vision which it describes as “the biggest transformation in travel in the North in a generation.”
Planning work will get underway as soon as possible.
Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “This is a massive moment for Manchester.
“We have campaigned long and hard for much-needed investment in rail in the city and across the North - better linking the great cities and towns of the North – to create and support jobs, regeneration and other opportunities for our people. The previous Government failed us. But today’s announcement is a serious commitment to that vision after years of frustration.
“For people in Manchester this will mean more reliable and more frequent – not just faster - services to Liverpool, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Warrington and York.
"After many years of us making the case, for the first time a Government has recognised the potential benefits of an underground station and in the coming years we will work closely and constructively with Government to see that become a reality.
“An underground station is more than simply a nice-to-have. It is fundamentally important in being able to adapt to future growth in passenger numbers and being able to run through services to Leeds and Bradford. It will also preserve more land for regeneration, job creation and public spaces and remove the need for unsightly overground infrastructure."
"At long last people across the North will feel the benefits.
“We’re also glad to see that the Government has signalled its intention to create a new line between Manchester and Birmingham. The West Coast Mainline is creaking and congested and this extra north-south capacity is needed as well as the boost to east-west connections.
"Manchester is a city going from strength-to-strength. This investment in vital rail infrastructure will accentuate and enable the city's success, and its contribution to the North’s success, in the years ahead."