An ambitious transport plan which would deliver faster links between Greater Manchester and other key cities in the north has been unveiled. It calls for capacity on rail routes to be boosted by as much as 150% along with improvements to key road links.
The report, One North: Superconnected cites, has been developed by an alliance of Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle and was welcomed by George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer at its launch in Manchester city centre today (Tuesday, August 5).
One North is aimed at maximising economic growth across the north, boosting transport links and rebalancing the national economy and has been formulated in response to the challenge set out by Sir David Higgins in his original report ‘HS2 Plus’.
If adopted by central government, the £15 billion, 15-year investment plan, which complements the HS2 proposals, could deliver benefits for the North of England including up to 150% additional capacity and as much as 55% faster journey times on a faster, more frequent interconnected rail network coupled with improvements to motorway and freight connections.
Specific benefits for Greater Manchester and surrounding regions include:
Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Sir David Higgins set us a challenge to make a case for improvements and we are responding in a single clear voice with this landmark report.
“The current constraints on our transport networks, the product of years of neglect and under-investment, affect the competitiveness of Greater Manchseter and the north as a whole.
“East-West journeys take almost twice as long as equivalent journeys in the south and our rail links are too slow and un-coordinated. Our motorways are congested, and there is an over-reliance on the M62.
“Addressing these limitations will require ambitious action, co-operation and a holistic approach to strategic planning and investment – bringing together rail, road water and freight and enabling Greater Manchester and the other great cities of the north to flourish.”
Councillor Andrew Fender, Chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, said: “I am pleased that we have been able to work with our partner cities to deliver this crucial and timely report, which states the need to rebalance the national economy through investment into northern interconnectivity.
“Transport for Greater Manchester has a history of delivering ambitious and successful transport schemes on time and on budget and as a region we have long recognised the link between investment in transport and economic growth. As such we see One North as a natural extension to that approach and are encouraged to see the Chancellor taking a strong interest.
“It is clear that the benefits for Greater Manchester and the surrounding regions would be significant for families and businesses and essential in driving and supporting vital economic growth across the region.”
Charlie Cornish, Manchester Airports Group (MAG) CEO, said: “We welcome this positive news about a synergy forming across the North to improve connectivity. At Manchester, the UK’s third largest airport, we have already been witness to increased infrastructure developments through the Metrolink line extension and the fourth platform addition to our train station. It is vital works like these come to fruition and are progressed, as they make Manchester Airport much more accessible to the 24m people within our catchment area, and they will also feed and link directly into the heart of our Airport City development.
“We are always keen to serve the North and continue to act as its global gateway. As well as providing strong regional/national ground transportation, we continue to seek and confirm new international destinations for all our passengers. This year alone we have announced new routes to Hong Kong, Jeddah, Charlotte (North Carolina) and Toronto. Furthermore routes we already serve like Dubai, Singapore, New York and Washington DC continue to be popular with passengers from across the North of England.”
The report details transport investment across the north as a whole up to 2030 and carries an estimated cost of between £10 and £15 billion, but this figure should be set in context
with other transport funding requests – for example recent requests for transport funding in and around London total around £80 billion up to 2050.
Partner cities will be working closely together following the launch of the report and with key partners including Network Rail, the Highways Agency, HS2 and the Government to further develop it into a phased and integrated investment programme. This will be determined by economic value and the potential to deliver a “Northern Powerhouse.”