One North Report Signals a Step in the Right Direction for Liverpool’s fight for HS2/3
Mayor Joe Anderson played a major part in the One North Report launch event in Manchester sharing the platform with Chancellor George Osborne and presenting Liverpool’s case to be part of a ‘Northern Powerhouse’ and bringing a HS2/3 link to Liverpool.
The One North report has been developed by an alliance of five cities – Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle and following the launch has the backing of Chancellor George Osborne.
“There is a prize that awaits the north of England if we work together to bring our cities together. I’m prepared to roll my sleeves up and get it done and so are you, so let’s get on with it.”
The Chancellor added that the combined strength of the north’s major cities was “greater than the sum of its parts” and assured there would definitely be money available from government to help them realise their ambitions to become an economic zone that could rival London and other world cities.
The One North report makes the case for better connections across the north of England in terms of rail, road and waterways. Key to this will be the High Speed Rail link to the region, in relation to Liverpool the report states:
‘In the case of Liverpool, there is an ambition to achieve a fast connection into the city. An upgraded or new line into Liverpool from the east could both speed up trans Pennine services to Manchester and beyond, and create a better connection for HS2.’
The One North report makes interesting reading from a Liverpool centric point of view. As a framework it contains the right elements required with regards to a connection to HS2 including
- Faster journey times to and from other cities and Manchester Airport
- Improvements in freight connections
- Local city region rail improvements
- East to West cross rail link connecting the cities of Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle.
Following the launch of the report there is certainly a unity among the 5 Northern Cities as well as support from Government but in Liverpool’s case we need to priortise and cement the elements highlighted above and in the report meaning the continuation of arguing the business case for Liverpool – ensuring we as a city are the start of HS3 and any East to West cross rail link.
By 2030, the report proposes:
- A new tunnelled trans-Pennine route at 125mph
- A fast and frequent intercity rail network joining up the cities, including a faster link to Newcastle and Manchester airports from the 5 cities
- Improving regional rail networks to allow additional capacity and electrification of existing lines
- Increasing East/West rail freight capability across the Pennines
- Improving road networks and access to ports
- The moves would work with the existing HS2 scheme for the North
City leaders and transport chiefs welcomed the support of Chancellor Osborne for their 30 year strategy that will potentially bring billions into cities such as Liverpool and Manchester.
The full One North Report is available to read here http://t.co/pWq0eeUn9N
To support the campaign to bring HS2/3 to the city please sign the HSR Linking Liverpool Petition http://highspeedrailliverpool.org/#resources