Northern Powerhouse Rail delayed, prolonging decade of uncertainty
The highly anticipated and long-stalled transport link, which would feature a £17bn Manchester-Liverpool rail line via Warrington, will not be pitched as expected by the Prime Minister at the Labour Party conference.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves had pledged to unveil the government’s vision for Northern Powerhouse Rail over “the coming weeks” as part of the June 2025 Spending Review, but a vision has yet to materialise. Reeves did, however, commit £15bn for Northern transport infrastructure.
Plans for the railway aim to replicate the success of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc by increasing mobility and efficiency and connecting high-growth industries across the North West.
Metro mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram claimed at MIPIM in March 2025 that the project could add £7bn GVA a year to the UK economy.
A cornerstone of NPR’s revival is the proposed rail link between Liverpool and Manchester, which would stretch from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly, via both Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Airport.
NPR has been in the works since it was first touted by then-chancellor George Osborne in 2014.
A decade later, at UKREiiF in May 2024, the Liverpool-Manchester Railway Board was announced with much fanfare. The board intended to create a strategy outlining how to maximise the regional economic benefits of such infrastructure.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, told the audience at UKREiiF that the project “is not going to be like HS2”, adding, “this is going to happen”.
At the Labour Party conference in 2024, then-transport secretary Louise Haigh declared that funding for the link may not be available – a year later, the government has opted to stall any announcement on the scheme.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, told BBC Radio Manchester that the current infrastructure around Manchester is not sufficient to support the city’s ongoing status as the fastest growing city region in the country.
He said: “I do believe that the transport secretary wants to help us deliver our ambitions, but it feels that projects in the southern half of the country are always green-lighted, but red-lighted up here.
“It’s been promised to us for over 10 years. We aren’t asking for anything that wasn’t promised by the government.
“The case I’ll have to keep making is why can’t we have an Elizabeth Line for the North West, that would bring huge growth to the big cities and Warrington.”
He also added that Manchester Airport would benefit from the link and then could be considered over expanding London’s crowded airports.
A spokesperson for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has declined to comment.
Darren Muir, director of planning at Pegasus Group, said the NPR link is “fundamental to the city region’s long-term growth”, adding that it is “vital to take a genuinely regional approach that integrates transport, housing, and economic growth”.
He said: “We know from experience that infrastructure certainty drives confidence and investment. Securing clarity on Northern Powerhouse Rail is therefore essential if we are to turn strategic plans into real, deliverable projects on the ground.
“[The rail line] would provide the connectivity needed to deliver the ambitions of the forthcoming Liverpool City Region Spatial Development Strategy, unlocking housing, employment, and regeneration opportunities in a sustainable way.
“The continued delays to the LCRCA SDS, coupled with a lack of clarity on Northern Powerhouse Rail, create significant uncertainty for local authorities and investors.”
Jeremy Hinds, director at Savills, said: “The case for continued investment in modern railways is always a good one, and the need to integrate the economies of the cities in the North, particularly Liverpool and Manchester, has been made many times.
“It is unclear whether the decision to postpone an announcement now is a prelude to a later decision to cancel the project altogether, or whether the spending review is ensuring that the project can be undertaken without incurring the excess experienced under the development of HS2.
“In any event, one of the consequences of the decision to postpone an announcement is to create uncertainty, and that is generally bad for business and for investment decision-making programs.”
The Department for Transport has been contacted for comment.
Another Party Conference, this time in Liverpool, and another kick in the teeth for the north. We are talking about investment over a ten to fifteen year period not in the next five years.
Interesting to see if Rachel Reeves manages to get re-elected in 2029 (or before) in her Leeds constituency. Maybe another “Portillo Moment” in the making.
By Anonymous
Just remove the dogleg to MCR Airport which is unnecessary and crack on. Other local services can service the Airport
By Slick
Ooh, this government has made some difficult decisions which had to be made, but they need to start bringing some positive news, sharpish.
No doubt we’ll hear nothing for approximately 3 years, only for the promises to re-emerge in time for the next election.
By 9 million live in London; 60 million live outside London!
This lot are on borrowed time anyway. Rachel wont see Christmas and Kier wont see next summer. Worst gov in history and that’s saying something considering the rubbish that came before them
By Bob
Unfortunately the Northern half of the country isn’t in the south East..err I think that seems to be the problem. Let Andy sort that one out if he ever gets to be Prime Minister.
By Anonymous
No real NEED for the airport dogleg, plenty of trains going there already, a direct fastlink between our 2 cities is what’s required.
By Anonymous
Why is this the only wealthy country in Europe, totally incapable of providing decent, affordable transport, for all its major cities?
By Elephant
I guess we all understand why this happens, in the meantime there is low hanging fruit all over the rail system between Manchester and Liverpool/Chester in terms of electrification and incremental capacity opportunities. Scotland has done a pretty good job of just chipping away at that stuff.
By Rich X
Governments of all colours cancel projects like this and then wonder why, 10 years later, the economy has stagnated. Other countries just get on and build stuff like this – while in the UK we dither, talk about it, pay consultants millions of pounds and then scrap schemes. Meanwhile wondering why the economy won’t grow.
By Anonymous
A slap in the face for Burnham and Rotheram.
By Anonymous
This was announced in 2010 and 15 years later we are no further ahead.
By Anonymous
To Mr or Ms Slick. Thank you for your common-sense comment.
By Anonymous
This additional delay sums up everything to do with infrastructure investment in this country. 10 years in the planning so far, and not a spade in the ground. Ridiculous from all the Governments (past and present) involved.
By Daniel
That’ll teach Burnham not to poke the bear
By Anonymous
Well, well, well Mr Burnham. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
By More anonymous than the others
Burnham should’ve spent the last year advocating for the scheme rather than complaining about it and demanding an expensive underground station. I can see the whole thing, along with the potential for HS2 to be reinstated, being taken off the table now.
By Mancunian
@annonymous 2.20pm. I believe you are spot on. However, it could also be a bargaining strategy to discourage Andy Burnham from challenging Starmer i. e. Back down from challenging me and we will fund it.
By Anonymous
When and if this is ever built, it ought to serve the new Man U stadium area rather than the airport, for which other solutions can be developed.
By WayFay
Interesting that the Treasury didn’t mind forking out for a £100m+ Bat Tunnel down south. Nor did they mind spending billions on a tunnel through the Chilterns – as in, through literal countryside with nothing at surface level! Yet when it’s any kind of spending in the north, the scrutiny and cancellations start racking up.
A new approach into central Manchester is needed, one way or another. And seeing as Manchester is surrounded by miles of suburbia, that approach will probably need to be a tunnel. One option could be to downgrade and narrow the M602 to widen the adjacent Chat Moss line to four-tracks, but I can’t imagine this being popular or without significant disruption. The tunnel via the Airport is also killing two birds with one stone – providing part of HS2 as well as serving for the new LMR.
By Anonymous
Lets be clear building a station 1 mile from Manchester Airport is bonkers – if you want a station at the Airport build it into the Airport or forget about it.
By Anonymous
@ WayFay, and what about the Etihad, Anfield, and the Everton Stadium, what is so special about ManU’s ground that qualifies it for such special treatment.
By Anonymous
I agree they need dedicated airport shuttles and remove that from the city to city link.. it will solve the problem quickly ..and cheaply
By Anonymous
Starmer backtracked late yesterday, and trotted out that old stalwart, “We need to get it right and we are committed .” So from 2012 until now ,is not enough time, to do a feasibility study. I think there is something more sinister about this, Starmer is trying to avert, what is now becoming a serious alternative powerbase in Manchester. Even if Burnham does not become Prime Minister, he is seen as the spokesman for the North. He is a constant thorn in Westminster’s side. The 5 big players in the North’s economy are Greater Manchester, Merseyside,Warrington, Manchester Airport and Leeds, why do they need a feasibility study to join by high speed trains, a combined economic output of 230 billion pounds?
By Elephant
Why is everyone moaning about a fast track to the biggest airport in the North West? It will benefit everyone and massively increases the business case for the line. It will mean you can get a fast train direct from an airport to Liverpool City Centre, surely something Liverpool has wanted for years. Are people moaning because it’s called Manchester Airport? we could rename it if it would keep the xenophobes happy.
I agree with the comment about the proposed airport station being nowhere near the airport; totally stupid, there is plenty of space next to the actual terminals. It’s the same as HS2 going in to Euston, the 20-30 minutes walk to your connection at St Pancras totally negates any potential time they’ve spent billions trying to save.
By Anonymous
Starmer will be too busy announcing forced digital labelling for us all, to think about anything useful. He urgently needs to sell a pup to the public to avoid actually having to tackle the issues at hand.
By James
If there was a clear and indisputable economic case for NPR it would have made it beyond indicative lines on a plan. In reality it is a platform (pardon the pun) from which Burnham can pitch for higher office, and a grift by a lobby group of multinational engineers, contractors, consultants and financiers.
Rail transport needs improvement in the north west. But NPR is not the solution.
By Elbow
Not surprised unfortunately.
By MrP
Elbow speaks with such calm authority, but what transport improvements would make such a difference then?
FWIW two extra platforms at Piccadilly were signed off in 2014… That hasn’t happened either, cancelled in 2023. Capacity issues have increased and even going back to that sticking plaster is no longer fit for purpose.
Northern rail travel needs transformational change. London and the SE has had three multi-billion investments in that time (since 2014), Crossrail, Thameslink 2000 (finished 2018 ) and massively upgraded overground network with rolling stock.
Incremental improvements (that were subject to cancellation) are no longer good enough for this region.l which increases in population and productivity despite Whitehall intervention.
Anyway, so Elbow can you be a bit specific on how we can tweak the current network?
By Knees and toes
‘Plans for the railway aim to replicate the success of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc by increasing mobility and efficiency and connecting high-growth industries across the North West.’
This success is incredibly impressive considering its not open yet.
By Anonymous