The government has unveiled a new rail route between Liverpool and Manchester via Manchester Airport and Warrington, giving the North West a faster future, provided everyone agrees that the future means a decade in which several current passengers will have become family history.
The route forms part of Northern Powerhouse Rail, whose first phase covers upgrades between Leeds, Bradford, York and Sheffield. The second phase includes three new stations and delivery beginning in the 2030s. This is reassuring for anyone who feared the transport announcement might arrive before the passengers had finished waiting for the previous one.
The existing Liverpool to Manchester Airport journey takes one hour and 25 minutes, stopping 21 times over 29 miles. The proposed line is intended to improve that arrangement. It may even reduce the number of stops at which passengers gaze through the glass and ask whether the train has reached the airport or merely developed an interest in aviation.
At the Bureau of Future Platforms, planner Lionel Bufferstop unveiled a map showing Liverpool, Manchester, Warrington and Manchester Airport joined by several confident arrows. “The route will bring these places closer together,” he said. “They are already fairly close, but the paperwork has been taking the scenic route.”
The plans promise greater capacity, better connections, jobs, homes and billions in economic potential. That is an impressive amount of prosperity to fit into one announcement, especially when the actual railway is still being invited to a meeting about its future. The map looked ready to transform the region. The timetable looked ready to apologise.
There is also a long term objective for a new north south line between Birmingham and Manchester. The government will study what should be delivered, when it should arrive and what it should cost, while retaining land already purchased. In practical terms, the nation has bought a seat for a train that is still deciding whether to exist.
Better rail links could genuinely help the cities involved. That is precisely why the announcement is so funny. A project can promise speed, growth and improved living standards while asking residents to admire its potential from behind a safety barrier. The North is not being denied a brighter future. It is being given one in instalments, each with its own consultation period.
By the time the new route opens, today’s commuters may have changed jobs, homes and opinions about public transport. Lionel Bufferstop will still be at the platform, proudly pointing at the same arrow, because the only service guaranteed to run on time is the announcement that the next announcement is coming.
Source: Department for Transport.
