The government has announced its intention to build on the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) scheme with a Birmingham to Manchester rail link. However, with a lack of detail on funding and timescales, completion of the line looks to be decades away.

Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, accused the government of treating people in the region as ‘second-class citizens’ when it came to transport.

The plan for a link between the second and third cities comes after the Conservative Party axed the northern leg of HS2 in 2023. The decision sparked criticism from regional leaders.

Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, accused the government of treating people in the region as ‘second-class citizens’ when it came to transport.

The government has stressed that the proposed link is not a reinstatement of the scrapped Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2. There is no given timescale or funding commitment for the line, stating that it will only be built once NPR lines connecting Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool are completed.

Rail union TSSA welcomed the announcement but criticised the lack of detail and emphasised the need for speedy delivery

The development of the £17 billion line between Liverpool and Manchester will begin in the 2030s – construction of the Birmingham-Manchester line will not start until the 2040s.

Rail union TSSA welcomed the announcement but criticised the lack of detail and emphasised the need for speedy delivery. Andy Burnham stressed the importance of a Birmingham-Manchester link in the NPR plans due to the current capacity constraints on the West Coast Main Lines.

Burnham praised the announcement calling it a ‘break through’ for Greater Manchester but reiterated his call for investment in an underground station for Manchester.

Acting leader of Staffordshire County Council, Martin Murray, criticised the lack of dialogue between the government and the county council

Reports suggest that Burnham’s push for funding an underground station caused tension with the government, with negotiations settled just hours before Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the NPR plans.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed the government will retain the land purchased between the West Midlands and Crewe for HS2, despite the cancellation of the northern leg.

Acting leader of Staffordshire County Council, Martin Murray, criticised the lack of dialogue between the government and the county council. Murray insisted that Staffordshire ‘will not be the forgotten county’. Staffordshire MPs said: ‘the plans do nothing to solve the uncertainty their constituents face’.

Meanwhile, Birmingham Northfield MP, Laurence Turner, criticised the government’s lack of focus on improving connections between the West Midlands and the East Midlands.

 

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