Back on track? Govt to confirm £45bn Northern Powerhouse Rail funding
A new rail route between Liverpool and Manchester via Manchester Airport and Warrington will make up one element of the long-promised rail project to boost east-west links across the North of England.
After years of delays, chancellor Rachel Reeves will finally set out the government’s vision for Northern Powerhouse Rail tomorrow, alongside a funding commitment to seeing it delivered.
The government has allocated £1.1bn during the current Spending Review period to support planning, development and design work to enable the preparation of a detailed delivery programme, including construction sequencing and timelines, with a total funding cap of £45bn for the full NPR programme.
NPR will hopefully provide faster and more frequent services linking Liverpool, Manchester, Warrington, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, and York, with onward services to Newcastle via Darlington and Durham, as well as to Hull and Chester for North Wales connections.
The programme will build on the ongoing Transpennine Route Upgrade, which remains in delivery, with the first phase focusing on improved rail connections between Sheffield and Leeds, Leeds and York, and Leeds and Bradford.
In parallel, development work on reopening the Leamside Line in the North East will progress.
North West travellers will have to wait until the 2030s to see a new rail route between Liverpool and Manchester via Manchester Airport and Warrington brought to fruition. The route would enable the delivery of a low-level station at Warrington Bank Quay, which will see four to six trains stop there every hour as they journey between the two cities. The feasibility of an underground station at Manchester Piccadilly will also be explored by the government.
Also on the NPR agenda: further upgrades to cross-Pennine connections between Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, and York.
NPR is expected to support significant construction activity across the region, including civil engineering, rail systems, stations, and associated infrastructure, and will generate skilled employment in planning, design, and construction, with complementary investment in training facilities through further education colleges.
Alongside NPR, the government has restated its long-term intention to develop a new rail line between Birmingham and Manchester, to be delivered after NPR and subject to further design and assessment – this proposal is separate from HS2 and is at an early stage of consideration.
The NPR programme sits alongside existing rail investments, including the Transpennine Route Upgrade, additional East Coast Main Line capacity, new services to Bradford, and reduced journey times between London, Leeds, and Newcastle.
A history lesson
Critics of the scheme will point to the many bumps in the road that the programme has encountered so far.
NPR was first proposed in 2014 under David Cameron’s government, with the working title ‘High Speed 3’, as part of the Northern Powerhouse agenda.
In 2018, support was confirmed by Theresa May’s government for a more ambitious NPR network, including a high-speed Manchester–Leeds route, with Liverpool–Manchester upgrades and onward connections to Sheffield, York, and the North East.
Since then, a series of delays and the cancellation of HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester, which removed infrastructure that NPR was expected to share, have affected the project and turned it into a constant source of frustration for Northern commuters.
It is well known that connectivity in the North lags behind the South, with an example journey of travelling the 35 miles from Paddington to Reading taking 22 minutes, while the rail journey between Liverpool and Manchester Airport – measuring 29 miles – can take 1 hour and 25 minutes, stopping 21 times.
Reaction
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “Over the past decade, we’ve become the UK’s fastest growing city region, but underinvestment in rail infrastructure has long acted as a brake on further growth.
“Today marks a significant step forward for Greater Manchester. We’ll now work at pace to prove the case for an underground station and work up detailed designs for the route between Liverpool and Manchester.”
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Two hundred years ago, we built the world’s first passenger railway between Liverpool and Manchester – and changed history.
“After more than a decade of dither, delay and broken promises, this is the start of a new era, with a genuinely strategic approach and a government finally backing Northern Powerhouse Rail in full.
“A creaking rail system has held the North back for too long. Our journeys aren’t just slower – our growth has been slower too. Poor connectivity doesn’t just hold people back – it holds our economy back. It limits our productivity, restricts freight capacity, and chokes off opportunity.”
Cllr Hans Mundry, Leader of Warrington Council, said: “This announcement is great news for Warrington and the wider Cheshire and Warrington sub region. By confirming its commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail and a new low-level station at Bank Quay, the government has recognised the key role our town can play as a driver of Northern growth.
“This investment will transform travel, deliver better connectivity and faster journeys and unlock thousands of jobs, and massive economic opportunities that will benefit our residents for years to come.”
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire said: “For too long, unreliable rail links have caused misery for people living and working in the North, while holding back our ambitious plans for growth.
“Today we have a solid commitment from government to invest in connecting our towns and cities including taking forward plans for Bradford station, capacity upgrades in and out of Leeds, and electrification across the network to allow more frequent and faster trains.”
Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire said: “This plan for Northern Powerhouse Rail isn’t just about faster trains. It’s about working with central government to build a transport system that matches the ambition we have for South Yorkshire over the next decade and beyond.”
Kim McGuinness, Mayor of the North East said: “My region deserves major investment in transport and that’s what we’re delivering, ensuring Northern Powerhouse Rail services reach Newcastle, via Darlington and Durham.
“We will work with government on the proposed Leamside reopening, aiming to bring back rail to parts of County Durham for the first time in decades.”
David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said: “This is a strong endorsement of the vision we set out in our White Rose Plan for Rail. For too long the North has missed out on investment, but this £45bn commitment changes that.
“By investing in capacity upgrades at York’s station, Northern Powerhouse Rail puts York at the heart of a modern transport network for the North.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “I spent three happy years in Leeds as a university student, a vibrant city I was proud to call home. But I’ve seen first hand what underinvestment and empty pledges do to cities across the North.
“A reliable commute, a secure job, a thriving town centre – these are all things that everyone should expect. But over and over again people in Northern communities, from Liverpool and Manchester to York and Newcastle have been let down by broken promises.
“This cycle has to end. No more paying lip service to the potential of the North, but backing it to the hilt.”
Reeves said: “If economic growth is the challenge, investment and renewal is the solution. That’s why we’re reversing years of chronic underinvestment in the North.”
If this government is doing this now is not the time to half arse it. They need to fully commit to an underground picadilly station and unlock the growth in the whole north of England. Now is the time to back the north of England and commit to realise its full potential with a suitable transport system
By Anonymous
Plans first announced in 2014 expected to start in 2030. No one trusts the government.
By Anonymous
Linking all of the big Northern Cities would be truly transformational for the whole country and would massively boost productivity. It needs to happen and in full. But the UK is way to expensive to build and I worry this will either be cancelled or worse will be watered down so much it will be pointless. Total reform of red tape that holds these projects up and increases the costs is needed and some government that can actually think further than the next 12 months.
By Bob
Crewe being let down again. Promises of High Speed 2 to be the catalyst for regeneration gone, Manchester – Birmingham still 20 years away, and no funding for remodelling the station nor to improve the electric supply at Weaver Junction to improve connectivity. Has any town been let down as much as Crewe over the last 5 years for broken promises and crippling under investment?
By Anonymous
After a decade of the tory governments broken promises and mismanagement is this finally going to happen? I certainly hope so, my only concern is that the the new party for failed and has been tories, Reform, will cancel this on day one if they got in power. Farage needs pressing on his intentions for public transport infrastructure in particular NPR.
By Anonymous
We don’t need more years of consultation and feasibility studies. This government needs to fully commit to it and get started. The Liverpool to Manchester line does not need to wait until other elements are completed. Just get it started as Reform UK Ltd have already said they will cancel it if they get into government, much harder to cancel something that has already started.
By Dom
If Manchester is planning for an underground station surely Liverpool should be looking at trams. The bendy bus idea sums up Steve Rotheram and his lack of ambition.
By Peter
Id assume they already have an idea of the proposed route for the Liverpool to Manchester line, so surely it makes more sense to start that first. The majority of the line will be cutting through countryside, which is for the most part fairly flat and made up of fields so this work could be carried out fairly quickly and in tandem with the more complicated three stations after a fast track planning process. The economic benefits for the Liverpool to Manchester line would be achieved quicker and benefit over 5 million people.
By GetItBuilt!
Brilliant news but we have heard it all before. I really hope this all happens, but I won’t hold my breath – the UK is absolutely useless on infrastructure investment or maintaining transport policy, which is why we can’t get any growth. A well-connected, integrated and underground Piccadilly Station is badly needed. Piccadilly is already so busy and was designed for a 2000’s Manchester which now we are not. As many pieces of this project puzzle need to get through this parliament and quickly – before the merry-go-round of successive governments cancelling the previous one’s work becomes a real risk in 2029.
By D
Wasn’t it Dominic Cummings who pointed out the ridiculous and many reasons why it takes an average of 25 yrs to get any major infrastructure project in this country completed? Sadly It’s not going to change regardless of which Government comes in . Britain is an old empire in its last death throes concerned with regulation, producing very little other than hot air. The ‘B’ Ark in Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the HR department when the world needs engineers and leaders, the…oh I could go on. Not only are it’s best days behind it , ruined by decades of deindustrialisation and underinvestment, now we have the slow and managed decline into senility of a once great power that only a political revolution could even hope to reverse but people can’t be bothered. Still , someone might get a nice new railway line somewhere..possibly . One day.
By Pugins Ghost
Excuse me for not getting excited , but as its already been alluded too , the alleged start date is within the next parliament and the current incumbents will have well been shown the door. Its just a sound bite that sadly whilst badly needed is unlikely to happen. Get read for a bendy bus service
By Paul
What about a connection to Liverpool airport? How will it grow without investment. The North west is big enough for two major airports.
By DT
This plan is almost exactly the same as Richi Sunak’s plan. The only difference is that the timescale has been pushed back.
By Anonymous
Any government making plans or promises for 15-20 years in the future is taking a chance, and a government with this one’s current standing in the opinion polls is also taking the mickey.
By Anonymous
The Business Case for these proposals will, to some degree, rely on the connectivity to Manchester Airport. Will the new station at the Airport be integrated into the airport footprint with ease of access to Terminal 2 or will it be the old HS2 proposals 2 miles to the west of the Airport. If it is the latter then in is genuinely a missed opportunity for the north.
PNW can you opine as I cannot find a proposals map that clarifies this point (and it is a pretty significant one for the north!)
By Anonymous
The Uk is a poor country, now, and cannot build railway lines like the Victorians, before then we build a nation-wide canal network. Of course, they had trillions of pounds saved up.Nor can we fford to build a motorway tunnel under the moors or re-open the electrified Woodhead railway line to link Manchester and Sheffield. Of course, this is absolute nonsense. We have the skills, the equipment, and you can always issued government bonds which folk will lap up (this original ideas is called capitalism). The Victorians invented it; they did not have trillions of pounds hidden behind the couch.
By Anonymous
Another dog’s breakfast. The greatest need of the rail network is for the the Lichfield to Crewe stage of HS2 to be included.
By Peter Styles
Shame Lancashire is always forgotten about. Preston station, despite being a major connection hub, is a living Victorian museum,
By Katie
A new northern powerhouse rail link from Liverpool to Manchester via Manchester airport. Rotherham your total lack of ambition for Liverpool shows no boundaries. You hark on about the railways from 200 years ago. If it was down to you my friend the Rocket would just be about to pull into John Lennon Airport.
By Stephen Hart
Reform have said they will kill this dead when they get elected. I hate reform btw but it seems everyone else thinks the are ace. Shame, I really want stuff like this
By Anonymous
The Manchester – Birmingham will also include a link to Liverpool. Not sure why this has been omitted in the press release, Liverpool City Region need to get a grip on this.
By Frank
The cynic in me says this is a government that knows the writing is on the wall so its easy to make big commitments that they won’t have to deliver and the next incoming shambles will ultimately axe and look like the bad guys rinse and repeat welcome to the uk
By Anonymous
Is right. Now get that dual city Olympic bid in for Liverpool and Manchester.
By Seb Ovett
More lies, more spin, and more cash torched on government quangos crafting a fine vintage of chaos for the next lot in power. And of course, the people making these promises? They won’t be the ones sipping it.
Still, every journey needs a first step, right? So maybe, just maybe, next time we’ll take it in the right direction. Hope springs eternal… even if common sense doesn’t.
By Steve5839
Reform will cancel this to give their merchant banker mates tax cuts.
By Anonymous
Reform will cancel this? Labour won’t even get it started..as usual. The Tories started the Northern Powerhouse and then walked it back. Government of the time is irrelevant..it’s the civil servants and NGO’s that actually run the country that will decide if it gets built or not and most of them aren’t in the North. Miracles may happen though. 25 years later we might find out. Not sure I’ll be here to see but please enjoy it on behalf of.
By Anonymous
This is never going to happen. Reeves, is on borrowed time and talking about these schemes and doing these schemes is totally different. Reeves promised West Yorkshire a light rail scheme to fanfare, at that boring speech in Rochdale,and there is already a delay with this, promising spades in the ground by 2028.and this has now been put back years, so people in Leeds will be lucky to see a tram by 2040. This government is chaotic and incompetent, and every policy is reneged on. Does anyone think that we will see any of these come to fruition. They U-Turn on everything.
By Elephant
This will definitely happen. What with the charismatic talented leadership we have in place in this country now, all of the high tech companies starting here and a can do attitude to business and long term capital funding we can….oh hang on..sorry..I was having a moment there for a minute . It’s the opposite of that isn’t it? Managed decline? I’m not even sure it’s managed.
By Anonymous
What about a rail link direct to Liverpool John Lennon Airport? Surely this has to be a priority for Rotherham? Every time I see him stood next to Burnham he looks like the hapless sidekick who’s out of his depth. Burnham is the guy LCR should have at the helm, bring him home!
By Liverpolitan16
Rotheram ineffective and failing the LCR again!
He has the nerve to seek relection again another of his broken promises.
By Liverpolitis
Rotherham needs to go ASAP
By Anonymous
China built a complete HS network the covers the whole country in the same amount time the U.K has spent talking about it
By Anonymous
I agree with Seb Ovett we should be looking at an Olympic bid for the north but I’d base it on the three cities of Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.
By Steve Co
If all of this happens, it makes even more sense for the proposed New Town in Adlington to come forward given its existing rail infrastructure
By Anonymous
Unfortunately if people vote Reform this investment in the North will get cancelled. Reform are more interested in their banker mates in London
By Anonymous