Northern Powerhouse Rail with new link between major cities goes ahead
The much-awaited Northern Powerhouse Rail is set to go ahead, including a new, faster connection between Manchester and Liverpool.
For years, people living in the north of England have been plagued by patchy rail connections and unreliable services between major cities when travelling east-west.
City leaders have pleaded for more reliable railways to ‘unlock the full potential’ of the region’s economies, saying that the Northern Powerhouse Rail needs to be delivered in full.
Now the government has announced it will go ahead with the Powerhouse plan, including the faster Liverpool-Manchester link. It will be part of the region’s growth plan to better connect cities, homes and jobs after years without serious improvement.
While the focus will be on improving the connection between Manchester and cities and towns in West Yorkshire, Leeds is also set to benefit from an electric line upgrade to Sheffield and Bradford.
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The faster and more frequent services will also extend to Newcastle and Hull.
After the Powerhouse project, Birmingham and Manchester could get a new train link, years after HS2’s northern leg was scrapped.
What is Northern Powerhouse Rail?
The Northern Powerhouse Rail is a network of rail connections designed to make travelling across the North West and Yorkshire faster, with connections eventually linking up to the North East as well.
The Powerhouse network will be made up of sections of rail that will be upgraded and linked up to enable faster journeys between towns and economic hubs.
Connectivity in the north of England ‘lags behind the south,’ the government said.
The latest blow to the region was when the cancellation of HS2’s northern leg by Rishi Sunak’s government in 2023. Since the HS2 leg was axed, conversation has picked up around the revival of the Northern Powerhouse Rail network, which was first proposed by George Osborne in 2014 before it was scrapped.
Sir Keir Starmer, who studied in Leeds, said he saw ‘first hand what underinvestment and empty pledges do to cities across the North.’
He said: ‘This cycle has to end. No more paying lip service to the potential of the North, but backing it to the hilt.
‘That’s why this government is rolling up its sleeves to deliver real, lasting change for millions of people through Northern Powerhouse Rail: a major new rail network across the North that will deliver faster, more frequent services.’
How much will Northern Powerhouse Rail cost?
The government insisted that the Powerhouser project will not repeat the mistakes of HS2, which has ballooned over its budget.
The Powerhouse funding from the government will be limited to £45 billion, with over £1 billion put aside for the immediate development work, the government said.
What have locals said about the plan?
The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: ‘Finally, we have a government with an ambitious vision for the North, firm commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail and an openness to an underground station in Manchester city centre.
‘A modernised Manchester Piccadilly could become the Kings Cross of the North, acting as a catalyst for major growth in our city region and beyond.
‘Over the past decade, we’ve become the UK’s fastest growing city region, but underinvestment in rail infrastructure has long acted as a brake on further growth. Today marks a significant step forward for Greater Manchester. We’ll now work at pace to prove the case for an underground station and work up detailed designs for the route between Liverpool and Manchester.’
Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: ‘Two hundred years ago, we built the world’s first passenger railway between Liverpool and Manchester – and changed history.
‘After more than a decade of dither, delay and broken promises, this is the start of a new era, with a genuinely strategic approach and a government finally backing Northern Powerhouse Rail in full.’
What is happening with the Manchester-Liverpool rail link?
One of the main improvements in the pipeline is the new express train route connecting Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street.
The new proposed express rail link could reduce the current 45-55 minute journey time between the cities by 20 minutes, with just three stops – Manchester Airport, Warrington Bank Quay and Liverpool Gateway – on the route to make it faster.
A train journey from Liverpool to Manchester – a 29-mile trip – can currently take up to an hour and 25 minutes.
Both Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool stations would also be revamped and modernised.
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