Council leaders demand changes to HS2 plans in Greater Manchester

An artist impression of the high speed train that will travel on the HS2 line Credit: HS2

Council leaders in Greater Manchester are calling for on the government to rethink plans to bring HS2 to Manchester.

They believe unless crucial changes are made the prospects of the whole North of England will be damaged for generations to come. 

Authorities will submit formal petitions to Government raising key changes to HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) - to be a success for the North.

They want an underground station at Manchester Piccadilly rather than the Government’s proposed overground proposal.

The leaders in the Greater Manchester Combined Authority say Manchester Piccadilly is central to both HS2 and NPR and an overground station would be at full capacity from day one, with no option to accommodate extra services.

The politicians call it a second-class option that 'would effectively hamper the future of rail infrastructure for the whole of the North for generations to come'. 

There are calls for an underground station to be added to Manchester Piccadilly Credit: PA

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham has called for the station’s design to be brought to a vote of all MPs on the floor of the House of Commons. 

"We cannot continue to repeat the mistakes of the past – failing to invest in central Manchester’s rail links has led to rail chaos across the North time and again.

"This is a huge moment and the decisions that are made now will affect the prospects for people here in the North for hundreds of years to come.

"A second-class choice for HS2 at Manchester Piccadilly station will be a hammer blow to any prospects of really Levelling Up our country."

The Second Reading of the High Speed Crewe-Manchester Bill took place on 20 June and triggered the ‘petitioning’ period where concerns can be raised and addressed.

Issues which cannot be agreed with HS2 Ltd and the Government are then decided on by a Select Committee of MPs.

Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig said, “Fundamentally, a future-proofed underground station into Piccadilly that can expand to meet increased capacity in the coming years - and not be log jammed on day one - is a key element of our petition.

"An overground station would stymie the continuing regeneration of east Manchester for a decade or halt it completely in some areas, while severing the city’s Metrolink service for years.

"We also need to work with HS2 Ltd to ensure ventilation shafts for the incoming tunnel do not negatively impact our local communities, alongside improved solutions for connecting the airport to local travel infrastructure, including the Metrolink network at the point of opening. "

The Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss committed to delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) in full.

HS2 and NPR are core components of the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), which was promised to radically improve and connect services across the North and Midlands.

The scaled-back IRP published in November 2021 did not deliver the plan that Transport for the North had agreed was required, cutting Bradford out completely. 

The route the high speed line will take from London to the North West Credit: HS2

The Transport Select Committee concluded that the £96bn IRP in its current form “will reduce the prospects of meeting ambitions for the North” and has called on the Government to reconsider the evidence base, including further discussions on the station options at Manchester Piccadilly.

Formal petitions are today being submitted by organisations across Greater Manchester, including the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Transport for Greater Manchester, Manchester City Council, Tameside Council, and Manchester Airports Group.

An artist's impression of what the new trains would look like at the platform Credit: HS2

The petitions of Greater Manchester authorities will raise concerns about several aspects of the HS2 Bill.

They include plans for two thousand car parking spaces at Piccadilly which is at odds with the authority's strategy to reduce cars and pollution.

The councils also warn thousands will be affected by the closure of Ashton Metrolink during at least two years of construction. They want a tram shuttle service to replace it from a new depot.

They're also calling for powers to ensure the new HS2 NPR station at Manchester Airport can be connected into the Metrolink network from day one of opening, and platforms at Wigan to accommodate the new trains.

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