A £70 billion plan has been published, detailing how the north’s transport infrastructure will be transformed over the next 30 years, a major milestone for the Liverpool City Region’s Linking Liverpool campaign.
A commitment has now been set out for Northern Powerhouse Rail by connecting the city to HS2 via a new twin-track line between Liverpool and Manchester, and then other cities in the north.
The move will hopefully deliver faster passenger journeys and providing the capacity required for the doubling of passenger numbers predicted for the future. It’s also hoped that capacity will be freed up on the existing network for freight, which will help the Port of Liverpool capitalise on its position as a western-facing port.
This is the first time that the inclusion of these proposals has been seen as formal acknowledgement by those outside the Liverpool City Region that this investment makes sense from an economic point of view, with the city region alone in line to benefit from £15 billion in economic growth, as well as 11,000 new homes, 24,000 new jobs and 3.6 million more visitors annually.
“This is a very significant milestone that shows the whole of the North, Network Rail and the Department for Transport backing our case for north-south and west-east high-speed links.
“We have got to this point through the efforts of all our civic and business leaders who have helped us make the case over many years that without the Liverpool City Region the economic benefits of any strategic rail investment in the north will never be fully realised,” Metro mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said.
It’s thought that improving connectivity to Liverpool in this way through HS2 could encourage more people to come to the city and its surrounding areas for holidays – 723,000 additional visitors that are projected to spend approximately £87 million, supporting about 1,740 additional jobs and £66 million in annual gross value added.
One of the major reasons why Liverpool should get high speed rail, according to the Linking Liverpool campaign, is that it will help to rebalance the UK economy and ensure that the region is a key part of a network that brings benefits to the city, as well as the whole of the north of England.
In September last year, it was revealed that the HS2 project as a whole would support some 30,000 jobs and create opportunities for businesses to really upskill their workforce. More than 7,000 roles have already been supported by the project, with more than 2,000 businesses already winning work with HS2.
Not only that but more than 100 apprentices are already working on the project, with 2,000 expected over its lifetime.
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