Mayor Joe pushes for Liverpool HS2 link
LIVERPOOL mayor Joe Anderson is at the Labour Party conference in Manchester today arguing the case for high speed rail to be extended to his city.
It is part of a campaign that will also take him to the Conservative conference in Birmingham next weekend.
At present the proposed high speed line will run from London to Birmingham and on to Leeds and Manchester. The closest it will get to Liverpool is a spur running from Knutsford to a depot at Wigan.
Mayor Anderson said: “I was one of the first to make the case for HS2 and before details of HS2 were even released I was calling for HS3 running West to East from Liverpool to Newcastle and Hull. It is not just about passenger numbers, it is about freight, capacity and growth for the future, the future for us as cities, the future for us as Northerners and the future for us as British citizens.”
At a Manchester Town Hall fringe event, also by shadow infrastructure minister Lord Adonis, he will argue that HS2 will not deliver on its economic promise if Liverpool is not involved.
He added: “As a port city Liverpool knows more than anyone else the importance of connectivity in all its forms – be it trains, roads or ferries across the Mersey. In the 19th Century half of the world’s freight came through Liverpool. Today, a £300m investment in Liverpool Superport is making our port ready to welcome the largest ships ever built by mankind – post-Panamax vessels.
“Connectivity is the back bone to any strong economy and when the world’s freight arrives on our doorstep we need to be able to move it efficiently and cost effectively across the country. Together with our growing city population and business confidence it is absolutely crucial that Liverpool has a full connection to HS2.”
A campaign group called 20 Miles More has already been established in the city that claims as link to Liverpool could have an £8bn impact on the city’s economy over 20 years.
