Linking Liverpool campaigners from public and private sectors have come together to call for the delivery of high speed rail links between Liverpool and Manchester that also connect directly to the planned North-South ‘HS2’ network.
The Linking Liverpool campaign, which is backed by public and private sector organisations across Liverpool City Region and supported by the Liverpool Echo, has submitted the call in its submission to the Government’s National Infrastructure Commission consultation, chaired by Lord Adonis, following his visit to the City in November last year.
Partners backing the campaign include the Local Enterprise Partnership, five Chambers of Commerce, Downtown in Business, Federation of Small Businesses, Institute of Directors, Liverpool BID Company, Professional Liverpool, Social Enterprise Network and The Women’s Organisation. Together, the organisations represent over 10,000 businesses and 125,000 employees in the region.
Delivery of the schemes would reduce journey time between Liverpool and Manchester to 20 minutes, Liverpool to Manchester Airport to 15 minutes, and Liverpool to London to 1 hour 13 minutes.
Said Liam Robinson, Chair of Merseytravel, “There is now strong evidence that high speed rail links between Liverpool and Manchester that also connect to the planned HS2 network make economic sense not just for the Liverpool City Region but for the whole of the North of England.
“Not only would this be a significant benefit to passengers, we also see this link as crucial in order to free up spare capacity on the conventional rail network for the movement of freight and support the growth of LCR Superport.”
Robert Hough, Chair of the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership said: “The Linking Liverpool campaign has gathered real momentum over the last 18 months and demonstrates that, when it comes to securing investment in high speed rail infrastructure, the Liverpool City Region means business.
“We are calling on the Government and Transport for the North, to recognise the clear economic case for full high speed rail connectivity for Liverpool and to deliver the schemes as part of the first phase of the Transport for the North programme.”
The Infrastructure Commission will report to Government on improving connectivity between cities in the north of England before the Budget in March.