City leaders call for £15bn transport investment

NORTHERN cities are throwing down the gauntlet to Chancellor George Osborne by proposing £15bn of transport improvements over the next 15 years.

In June Mr Osborne addressed an audience in Manchester and spoke of the need to create a “Northern powerhouse” by improving the collaboration and links between cities.

At the heart of his speech was a proposal for HS3 – a high speed link across the North.

But regional leaders want to see action now and say their suggestions, which will be presented to Mr Osborne and HS2 chairman Sir David Higgins in Manchester today, could increase road capacity by 150% and make train journey times 55% faster.

Central to the plan is a new 125mph line across the Pennines to cut journey times between Manchester and Leeds from 50 to 30 minutes.

They say the proposals would also deliver new trains, a faster route to Newcastle and better access to ports and airports – improving freight and logistics movements across the country.

The report – One North: Superconnected Cities – is being launched by Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle, and supported by Hull, Bradford, Wakefield and York.

The report proposes:

• Increased road capacity for both freight and personal travel through extended managed motorways.

• A very fast, frequent and high quality intercity rail network joining up city regions – including a new trans-Pennine route (tunnelled as necessary), a faster link to Newcastle and improved access to Manchester Airport.

• Improved regional rail networks to provide additional capacity and help sustain growth, interconnected with HS2 and intercity services plus local tram networks and more park and ride facilities.

• New rolling stock (as a priority), electrification of existing lines, higher service frequencies and addressing pinch-points on the rail network.

• A digital infrastructure enabling real-time information, greater network resilience and faster connections between key areas to personal and business users.

• Improved access to enable efficient freight movements by rail, road and water including ports, rail links and distribution centres.

• Building HS2 early – extending Phase One to Crewe and bringing forwards the delivery of HS2 between Leeds and Sheffield.

• Improving East/West rail freight capability across the Pennines, linking major ports to north/south rail routes.

Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese said: “Sir David Higgins set us a challenge to make the case and we are responding in a single clear voice with this landmark report.

“The current constraints on our transport networks, the product of years of neglect and under-investment, affect the competitiveness of the North. East-West journeys take almost twice as long as equivalent journeys in the south and our rail links are too slow and unco-ordinated. Our motorways are congested, and there is an over-reliance on the M62.

“Addressing these limitations will require ambitious action, co-operation and a co-ordinated approach to strategic planning and investment – bringing together rail, road, water and freight and enabling the great cities of the north to be more than the sum of their parts. We need a new holistic approach to strategic investment and planning. The reward would be a substantially increased contribution to the national economy.”

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