The Government has insisted that it is fully committed to the Northern PowerHouse Rail Scheme despite rumours that it is once again being delayed
The BBC’s Faisal Islam wrote yesterday that the planne announcement by the Prime minister at the Labour Party conference next week would not be going ahead after Treasury concerns over the long-term costs of the line earmarked between Liverpool and Manchester.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves said back in June she would “set out” plans to “take forward our ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail….in the coming weeks”.
The report claims that the major stumbling block in the scheme is connecting Manchester Airport to Manchester City Centre with the Treasury questioning whether it would represent value for money
The whole scheme is seen as critical to rebalancing the UK’s economy It would connect Liverpool and Manchester to Leeds Bradford and Sheffield and was first mooted back in 2014 by the then Chancellor George Osbourne and the then newly appointed Prime Minister Boris Johnson also committed to the scheme in the Autumn of 2019
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham was furious earlier this month when a report backed by Reform Depouty Leader Richard Tice called for the scheme to be scrapped telling Companies not to bother bidding for contracts if his party came to power
