The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced Government plans to construct a new rail route between Liverpool and Manchester, marking a key milestone in the establishment of the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) project.

Running via Manchester Airport and Warrington; the new route will form part of the first phase of the project, which will also see improved connections across the Pennines between Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield.

The scheme looks to boost growth and living standards across the north of England and aid in the unlocking of nearly 40 billion GBP of economic potential.

Other aspects of phase one will include upgrades on routes across Leeds, Bradford, York and Sheffield.

In its second phase, NPR will see the construction of three new stations at Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly and Warrington Bank Quay Low Level along the new route, with delivery set to begin in the 2030s.

Improvements are also being considered for busy stations such as Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool Central as the Government conducts work with the city region to carry out a major regeneration scheme within the city centre.

The third phase will focus on improving connections between Manchester and Sheffield, Manchester and Leeds and, potentially, Manchester to Bradford.

For too long, the North has been held back by underinvestment and years of dither and delay – but that ends now.

This new era of investment will reignite the economy across Liverpool and Manchester, helping their iconic sport and cultural industries to thrive, and cementing Manchester Airport as the gateway to the north.

This exciting new line will not only speed up journeys, it will open up new jobs and homes for people, making a real difference to millions of lives.

Plans have now been approved to lengthen platforms at Manchester Airport in order to accommodate longer and more frequent trains, which will be backed by 115 million GBP worth of funding.

A new plan for the North is set to be published this coming Spring, and will include proposals for a northern growth corridor from Liverpool to York, as well as plans to make the most of economic opportunities right across the North, including in clean energy, defence and advanced manufacturing.

NPR plans come in addition to the Transpennine Route Upgrade, which aims to reduce journey times between York and Manchester & Manchester and Leeds, as well as create more than 5,000 new jobs and support the development of 6,500 homes in the region.

A funding cap of 45 billion GBP is set for the NPR programme, including 1.1 billion over the current Spending Review period allocated from existing budgets first. The project will see the Government work closely with local partners to ensure planning processes are carried out efficiently, and approvals are streamlined to reduce delays and prevent projects going overbudget.

In order to maximise benefits from NPR; the Government is also setting out a long-term goal to construct a full new north-south line from Birmingham to Manchester, expanding capacity and improving connectivity on the West Coast Main Line. The Government has firmly stated that this won’t be a revival of HS2 Phase 2, and will instead be an incremental programme, with improvements in the Northern Growth Corridor prioritised first, and land already purchased between the West Midlands and Crewe retained in the interim.

Today’s announcement is a significant declaration of intent from the Government on future rail investment in the North, that Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) will now be initiated.

Both rail suppliers and users will welcome any plans to improve connectivity between Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford and options for electrifying those routes, as well as ambitions for a new line between Liverpool and Manchester via Warrington and Manchester Airport.

RIA is also pleased that a north-south railway along the lines of the original HS2 Birmingham to Manchester route will eventually link to NPR. With the West, Midland, and East Coast main lines all filling to capacity, we have always said that to get the full benefits of HS2 you need to build the full scheme. Whatever the scheme is eventually called, bringing Manchester and Leeds back into play via both NPR and extension to HS2 is crucial to deliver the economic growth and connectivity the UK needs in the years ahead.

RIA and our members now ask to see detailed plans, timescales and committed budgets to all three phases of the Government’s plans, in order to ensure that this statement of intent announced today becomes a reality well within its 2040s deadline.