Two hundred years and two days after the founding of the original Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company, there are hopes that the two cities may be on the cusp of a new railway revolution.
They are expectations shared by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, his Liverpool City Region counterpart Steve Rotherham – plus Bev Craig and Liam Robinson, the council leaders in both cities. That’s because they are members of the new Liverpool-Manchester Railway Board, which is tasked with building a new line between the North West’s largest urban areas.
“This is North West history being made today,” Andy Burnham announced at the UK Real Estate, Investment, and Infrastructure Forum in Leeds on Wednesday (May 22). “On May 20, 1824, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company was incorporated on that day. Here we are 200 years and two days later. Before you are the first members of the new Liverpool-Manchester Railway Board.”
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If successful, passengers could fly between Liverpool city center and Manchester city center in just 35 minutes. They get off at the renovated Liverpool Central Station, or at the new Manchester Piccadilly metro station.
There will be just four stops on the line – the other two being Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Airport – as the board also looks to separate stops, freight trains and fast intercity routes onto different tracks. In total, the project is thought to cost at least £17 billion.
And despite the eye-watering amount, when the announcement was made to the board, there was a shared sense of belief among the four politicians that the project would not reach the buffers this time.
That’s because of a number of steps made in Parliament last night, Andy Burnham said. Firstly, the HS2 Crewe to Manchester Bill was formally amended to become the Northern Powerhouse Rail Manchester to Liverpool Bill.
“So there is a bill before Parliament to support the work of this council,” Mr Burnham noted. “Critically,” he added, rail minister Huw Merriman also “confirmed in parliament that a tube station for Manchester Piccadilly is on the table and in a letter to Steve [Rotherham] that the worst option for Liverpool is off the table’.
The Labor shadow cabinet would also support the plans if they come to power at this year’s election.
These developments represent “real progress,” Mr Burnham said. But he may be more heartened by the fact that the government has ‘confirmed’, in his words, that there is ‘still £17 billion in the plan to deliver this new railway line’.
And while that’s a welcome budget to start with, it does expose a potential pitfall in this new rail plan – as the mayor himself admits.
“I think what we’re trying to say is ‘how do we pay for those ambitions in Liverpool city centre, Warrington, the airport and in Manchester city centre?’,” Mr Burnham added. “It’s up to us to see if we can figure out a way to do this and fund the right rail line for the northwest.”
But even with questions about how much of the new project will be guaranteed funding – and no firm commitment for the coveted new Piccadilly and Liverpool Central stations – all four conveyed a sense of confidence.
One proposed solution to the financing issue is land value capture, where ‘the increase in land value resulting from policy decisions’ is accounted for on the balance sheet. “What is missing from development in British cities is the basic principle of borrowing against future growth. ,” Count Bev Craig explained at a press conference afterwards. “Land value capture is one mechanism to achieve that, but that’s a broader question from the government reform sector anyway – which isn’t specific to this line – so it’s not necessarily as unusual as it might sound, because cities in asking the whole country for similar powers.”
The board is also keen to collaborate with private companies – and even open it to expressions of interest – to make the project a reality. There is also the aforementioned plan to re-examine where freight trains operate in Greater Manchester, which currently run through the city centre. Mr Burnham wants the freight terminal to be moved from Trafford Park to Port Salford, or the developing Parkside in Warrington, just across the border from Wigan, to ease rail congestion.
Moreover, there are still long-term ambitions for a direct line ‘via Manchester to Bradford and Leeds’, he told reporters.
Any potential expansion in Yorkshire is secondary to the connection between Liverpool and Manchester, it seems. But that doesn’t mean it will be here anytime soon.
“That company built that railroad in six years,” Burnham said. “Can we do that?” he then asked the panel.
“It’s a tall order,” Steve Rotherham replied. “I don’t know anything about that,” Mr. Burnham added to answer his own question. “But we will do our best.”