Team behind HS2 open office in Manchester city centre
The company tasked with building the HS2 high speed rail link has opened an office in Manchester.
HS2 Ltd is opening the office as work steps up to extend HS2 to both Leeds and Manchester.
The move is being seen as a sign HS2’s commitment to work with partners, including Transport for the North.
The company moved its headquarters from London to the Midlands three years ago and has now established a new base in Manchester city centre for its core team in the North.
Mark Thurston, HS2 Ltd chief executive, said: “HS2 is crucial to delivering Transport for the North’s ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
“By having a new base in Manchester we are able to work closer with our Northern partners.
“Together, HS2 and NPR will enable faster, more frequent and reliable services throughout the North
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“The spare capacity released on the northern sections of the HS2 network will enable future NPR services, so the two projects work seamlessly to maximise the benefits of the UK’s investment in future rail. With towns and cities set to benefit across the North, HS2 will transform rail journeys and give passengers thousands of extra seats every day.”
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham added: “HS2 will not only improve our railways from North to South but will also lay the foundations for the east to west rail links across the North that we desperately need.
“HS2, linked with east to west Northern Powerhouse Rail, will make it easier for people to move between our towns and cities, help businesses connect with each other and their customers, and act as a catalyst for local growth.
“With new high speed rail connections, the economic output of Greater Manchester could double to around £132bn by 2050, contributing around 40,000 new jobs.
“HS2 Ltd’s decision to open an office in Manchester is a real statement of intent. I look forward to working with HS2 to ensure the North gets the maximum benefit from the better connections and released capacity that HS2 and NPR will deliver.”
Henri Murison, Director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, added: “The Northern Powerhouse Partnership welcomes the move by HS2 to have a permanent office base in Manchester, with the work on the phases to Crewe, to Manchester and to Leeds advancing.
“HS2, delivered together with Northern Powerhouse Rail, will be transformational and has the potential to support hundreds of thousands of jobs. Without a new railway for city to city travel alongside our Victorian railway, to keep servicing commuters with create more scope for freight, it will be hard to attract investment and the jobs we need to rebalance the UK’s economy and close the North-South divide.”
Work on the first phase of HS2 from London to the Midlands is already underway at over 250 locations.
Across the North, HS2 station locations have been preparing for the arrival of the new railway by drawing up economic plans to take advantage of better rail connections.
