New Liverpool-Manchester railway line proposed

A new railway line between Liverpool and Manchester that would “punch well above its weight” has been proposed by regional leaders.

Mayors Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham, alongside former rail minister Huw Merriman, are urging the Government to support the plans.

A report outlining the case for the new Liverpool-Manchester Railway states it would cut journey times between the city centres to 32 minutes, compared with an average of 49 minutes currently.

It would also bring more than half a million more people within 30 minutes of the destinations.

The line would run from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly, with stops at a new Liverpool Gateway station, Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Airport.

Construction would deliver an estimated £15 billion boost to the economy and create 22,000 jobs, according to the document.

The railway would be a major component of the Northern Arc, which is described as “an emerging economic corridor stretching from the Mersey to the Pennines and beyond”.

Analysis by consultancy Metro Dynamics suggested infrastructure investment in the region could boost the UK’s economic output by £90 billion over the next 15 years.

The Conservative government committed £17 billion to a new railway line between Liverpool and Manchester following the cancellation of HS2’s northern leg in October 2023.

Boosting rail infrastructure between the cities was included in the Labour Government’s High Speed Rail Bill in last year’s King’s Speech.

Mr Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said there is “hardly a person in the North who hasn’t felt the frustration of slow, unreliable journeys, or missed out on things because of creaking, outdated infrastructure”.

He went on: “We’re putting forward a serious, deliverable plan that does things differently – developing plans at a regional level instead of a top-down approach.

“Not cap in hand, but shoulder to shoulder with Government.

“We’re offering a new way of doing things: faster, fairer, and better value.

“With the right backing, we can get spades in the ground in the early 2030s and deliver the world-class railway we deserve.”

His Greater Manchester counterpart, Mr Burnham, said: “A new Liverpool-Manchester Railway would be shorter than both London’s Elizabeth line and East West Rail connecting Oxford and Cambridge, but would punch well above its weight in both growing the UK’s economy and better connecting our high-growth sectors.”

He added: “We want to work hand in hand with Government to plan and deliver this railway from the ground up, enabling us to maintain our growth momentum.”

Mr Merriman, who chairs the Liverpool-Manchester Railway Partnership Board, said: “The Government must invest in infrastructure to achieve its number one priority of growing the UK economy.

“With years of concentration in the South, there needs to be a fair balance of where that’s targeted, and the time is ripe to rebalance the nation.”

Mr Merriman was rail minister in Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government from October 2022 until the general election in July 2024.

Published: 14/05/2025 by Radio NewsHub