"The wide-ranging Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) plan is not just about rail expansion to realise the potential of the "untapped goldmine of the North of England" although that is a big part of it. In the 2030s, it will see a new high speed line between Liverpool and Manchester, and later a line between Birmingham and Manchester to replace the cancelled leg of the HS2 project."
"As it seeks to right a long history of cross-party overpromising and under-delivery, the infrastructure plans unveiled on Tuesday are central to the political challenge facing Labour and its hopes of reviving economic growth. As well as championing HS2, former Chancellor George Osborne in 2015 pronounced in an old train shed near Old Trafford that the newly-elected majority Conservative government would roll out a high speed rail line across Labour's northern heartlands."
"Boris Johnson, elected on a pledge to "level up" northern England, latched onto the idea after winning a majority in 2019. But the political consensus behind the rail project was broken in 2023 by Rishi Sunak, who scrapped the northern leg of HS2 and left NPR alive in accounting terms only. Rail insiders said it had not even reached the "crayons on a map" stage."
"Build it from the north" became a longstanding demand as tens of billions were channelled into projects in the south east and London. The Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) plan aims to expand rail capacity and connectivity across northern England rather than only adding local improvements. In the 2030s a new high-speed line will link Liverpool and Manchester, with a later Birmingham–Manchester line replacing the cancelled HS2 northern leg. The plans are central to Labour's political challenge and to efforts to revive northern economic growth. The northern HS2 leg was scrapped in 2023, leaving NPR only in accounting terms until the government's recent recommitment. Manchester Airport will become the most connected airport outside London.
Read at www.bbc.com
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