HS2

High-speed Liverpool to Manchester line a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity’, transport chiefs say

A new high-speed line between Liverpool and Manchester is a “once-in-a generation opportunity,” and would cut journey times from the two cities to around 20 minutes, transport chiefs have said.

Merseytravel chief executive Frank Rogers and chair Cllr Liam Robinson are leading the calls for the line to be built connecting the north west’s two major cities— as well as continuing HS2 line construction that would reduce the Liverpool to London journey by a quarter.

The ‘Linking Liverpool’ campaign— spearheaded by Rogers and Cllr Robinson, as well as mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson— claims the move will bring a £16bn boost to the city’s economy, as well as 20,000 jobs and 10,000 new homes.

Despite the HS2 construction not yet including a link to Liverpool, it is hoped that a largely-underground high-speed line connecting the city to Manchester will open Liverpool up to the HS2 line, and slash Liverpool to London times from over two hours to around just one hour and 33 minutes.

Cllr Robinson said the proposals were something the city “cannot afford to lose out on,” adding that on big infrastructure projects the developers have to get it right, without a “cobbled compromise that won’t do what we want.”

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Cllr Robinson said: “We think it will be worth £16bn to the local economy. That’s what I call an economic no-brainer.”

He noted: “We want to make sure that no government, but particularly this government, forgets that this needs to be the next national infrastructure priority.

“We continue to work with TfN on that and I think we’re in a good place. But we know there’s a lot more convincing that has to be done with the DfT in London.”

The transport chiefs claim the new line can become part of the planned Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) project, and has already been backed by Transport for the North (TfN) and metro mayors Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham.

Frank Rogers said within 12 months they expect the government to deem the business case to be robust, and hopes talks will begin about the viability of a new line from Liverpool to Manchester as part of NPR.

“We see the first leg as being from Liverpool to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly and we want to see the benefit of that as early as possible, such as when the HS2 line comes up from Birmingham it’s connecting to a line that’s already there,” Rogers said to the Echo.

He noted that the exact route of the line has not yet been finalised, though he added that their “options are being worked on.”

The calls for greater investment in advancing network links across the region have been prominent for several years: last year the metro mayors Burnham and Rotheram said the government should look to prioritise HS3 over Crossrail 2 plans.

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Image credit: temmuzcan