Northern England bets on fast rail linking Liverpool to Manchester via Manchester Airport

The UK government on January 14 unveiled major rail plans aimed at unlocking billions of pounds in economic growth across Britain’s North West, including a brand-new rail line linking Liverpool and Manchester via Manchester Airport.

The proposals, as part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) program, outline a new high-capacity route between Liverpool and Manchester, new stations at Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly and Warrington Bank Quay Low Level, and faster, more reliable rail connections across northern England.

Officials say the investment is central to a broader strategy to raise productivity and living standards in the North. Bringing the productivity of the region’s five largest cities up to the national average could add as much as £40 billion ($50 billion) a year to the UK economy, according to government estimates.

Redynamizing Northwestern Britain through rail

The Liverpool–Manchester line will form the backbone of NPR’s second phase, with construction expected to begin in the 2030s. Earlier phases focus on upgrades between Leeds, Bradford, York and Sheffield, while a third phase will target faster connections between Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford.

Alongside the new line, the government is considering improvements at Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool Central stations, as well as options for a major city-center regeneration project in partnership with the Liverpool City Region.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the plans mark a turning point after decades of underinvestment.

“For too long, the North has been held back by delay and indecision,” Alexander said. “This new era of investment will reignite growth across Liverpool and Manchester, strengthen Manchester Airport as the gateway to the North, and create new jobs and homes that will make a real difference to people’s lives.”

Huw Merriman, chair of the Liverpool–Manchester Rail Partnership Board, called the announcement “superb news” for both the region and the country. “With the government backing NPR from the outset, we can plan and deliver properly, learning the lessons of the high speed rail project HS2,” Merriman said.

The government highlighted stark contrasts in current rail performance. A direct trip from Liverpool to Manchester Airport takes around one hour and 25 minutes, stopping 21 times over just 29 miles. By comparison, trains between Reading and London Paddington cover 35 miles in about 22 minutes.

To deliver early benefits, the government has approved £115 million to lengthen platforms at Manchester Airport station, allowing longer and more frequent trains ahead of the new line’s completion.

Northern ambitions

The NPR program also aims to ease severe overcrowding on key routes, including the Leeds–Manchester corridor, which currently sees just two fast trains per hour despite heavy demand.

Officials say the rail investment will support thousands of jobs and new homes and form a core part of a wider “plan for the North” to be published this spring. That strategy will include proposals for a northern growth corridor stretching from Liverpool to York.

The NPR plans sit alongside the ongoing Transpennine Route Upgrade, which is expected to cut journey times between York, Manchester and Leeds, create more than 5,000 jobs and support 6,500 new homes.

The government has set a £45 billion funding cap for the overall program and pledged tighter project oversight to avoid the cost overruns and delays seen on HS2.

Looking further ahead, the government confirmed it will launch a feasibility study into a new north–south rail line between Birmingham and Manchester to ease pressure on the West Coast Main Line. It would then become an alternative rail solution to the cancelled HS2.

UK Labour government believes that the improved rail connectivity is key to turning the North into one of Europe’s leading economic regions. But turning the NPR program into reality will take unfortunately time. Construction work could start in the early 2030s for a potential opening by the end of the next decade if not the early 2040s…

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