With Boris Johnson set to make a decision on HS2 this week, the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has made an apparent U turn over the line.
Burnham says that the Prime Minister has inherited a scheme which begins in the south, and even by optimistic estimates won’t reach the North until the 2040s.
“ Greater Manchester continues to support building both HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail all the way and in full. We need the right north south and east west connections for the North West, Yorkshire and the North East. London has never had to choose between rail projects. Why should we?” says the Mayor adding
“Whilst we are not opposed to making cost savings to HS2, what we won’t support is making all of those savings in the North. We cannot support a situation where the Government builds a high-spec rail link between London and Birmingham, and a lesser-class rail link between the Midlands and the North.”
One of the problems over the project is that HS2 has been designed as a north to south terminus station at Piccadilly Station, what’s on the table simply isn’t the right solution for the vital east-west connections across the north
There have been longstanding concerns with the plans for Manchester Piccadilly. It, says the Mayor, risks creating the mistakes of the past – where our infrastructure is simply unable to cope with the growth in demand.
It cannot be right that such critical connections and capacity will be hampered by bolting on NPR to HS2 infrastructure. This will mean second class east to west services, and a second class station at Manchester Piccadilly. The right solution for Piccadilly is the right solution for the whole of the North.
A recent report commissioned by Manchester City Council by experts at Bechtel shows that this can be done by a shorter tunnel from Manchester Airport to central Manchester, releases much needed investment to design the kind of station we need Piccadilly to be
Instead Burnham proposes building the full NPR network – connecting Liverpool, Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly, Bradford and Leeds and building a new, modern, underground station at Manchester Piccadilly on an east / west alignment – to ensure our rail system is future-proofed for generations to come.
Once NPR is complete, continue building HS2 south from Manchester, utilising the shared infrastructure between Manchester Airport and Piccadilly.
This says Burnham, could bring fast, modern rail links to the Northwell ahead of the HS2 timetable. That would reduce journey times between these cities by an average of 30-45 minutes, and it would transform rail connections to Manchester Airport for millions of people and thousands of businesses and crucially he adds it would take traffic off our roads, supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.
