Engineering news
Liverpool will be left behind without a dedicated connection to the HS2 rail route, according to a report commissioned by the city’s mayor.
The report, produced by think-tank ResPublica, proposes a dedicated, high-speed rail line linking the Liverpool City Region to the HS2 route to the north of Crewe, and connecting it to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly on high-speed track.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said that connecting one of the country’s largest ports, along with the city’s logistics facilities and growing business community, is vital in realising the Northern Powerhouse plan to rebalance the economy away from London. He said: “The need for Liverpool to be connected to both the other cities of the north and London is huge if we as a city are going to play our part in generating money, jobs and continued growth.”
The report suggests that the Department for Transport (DfT) would, if permitted by government, use tax-increment financing to pay for the extra 20 miles (32km) of high-speed track needed to directly plug Liverpool into the new line.
Phillip Blond, director of ResPublica, said that if the Northern Powerhouse is to work, it must connect the cities of the north with each other, as well as London.
MP for Liverpool Riverside Louise Ellman, who is also chair of the transport select committee, endorsed the report. She said: “The resources of the North West have long been under-appreciated but its assets, such as the Port of Liverpool, are of national economic significance.”
In response to the report, the DfT dismissed the calls by Liverpool city region leaders to be allowed to self-fund a link into the rail network. The DfT said: “HS2 is a transformative invest-ment that will benefit passengers across the North West. This, together with our plans to transform east-west rail links through the Northern Powerhouse Rail project, will help deliver a rail revolution for Liverpool and the North.”