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Metro Mayor welcomes priority for Cross
Rail for the North
LIVERPOOL City Region Metro Mayor,
Steve Rotheram has welcomed the announcement from Lord Andrew Adonis and the
National Infrastructure Commission Northern Powerhouse Rail today to make
Northern Powerhouse rail one of the top three investment priorities for
Government.
The proposal for a high speed West to East rail link connecting northern Cities
was a key manifesto pledge for the Metro Mayor, and has been a major priority
for the City Region. Lord Adonis's recommendation comes after both major parties
pledged to support the project during the recent General Election campaign.
Steve Rotheram commented:- "I welcome the latest endorsement from Lord
Adonis and the National Infrastructure Commission. There is now a growing
recognition that this is a project with national significance and value that is
at least as important as HS2 and the Heathrow Third Runway. Quite simply it is
absolutely key to the Northern Powerhouse vision and the compelling need to
rebalance the UK economy."
Steve Rotheram recently joined forces with his opposite number in Greater
Manchester, Andy Burnham. To champion the project, but also emphasise the
overwhelming case for starting the project in Liverpool with an initial phase
connecting the City to Manchester and Manchester Airport.
He explained:- "Of course I want to see this project delivered in its
entirety, but we should start where we can get the biggest and best value for
money return. Linking Liverpool to Manchester would be by far the easiest and
most economically viable phase and would have the added benefit of also
connecting our City Region to HS 2. This would integrate North to South and
West to East high speed networks and provide much needed additional freight
capacity to support the growth of the Port of Liverpool.
It would also link the Cities with the greatest degree of physical and economic
synergy, and where the agglomeration benefits are greatest. It's by deepening
and improving connectivity between Liverpool and Manchester that we can, in the
short term, create an integrated urban economy with scale and diversity to
balance London."
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