Transport for Greater Manchester

One North launches promising key economic benefits for the North of England
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date 5 August 2014
source Transport for Greater Manchester
type Press release

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:

o a new 125 mph trans-Pennine route, connected to HS2 lines and the existing train
network (tunnelled as needed), linking Manchester and the other four city regions
with each other, Manchester Airport and ports;
o better rail links to Manchester Airport, improved cross city services and integrated
transport links between rail and tram;
o reduced rail journey times between Greater Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and
Sheffield;
o further electrification of rail routes across the North West and the introduction of
new rolling stock as a priority;
o addressing capacity and resilience issues on the trans-Pennine M62 – along with the
dependency we have on this key route; and
o managing congestion on the M62, M60, M56 and M6 and M61 corridors

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.”

Railhub Archive ::: 2014-08-05 TfM-001