The Greater Manchester mayor has revealed the findings of a review by a group of private companies he commissioned
A new train line that would cost less than HS2 is the 'best solution' to improve train services between Manchester and Birmingham, a review commissioned by Andy Burnham has concluded. The review by a group of private sector companies considered three options.
It comes after the Greater Manchester mayor joined his West Midlands counterpart Andy Street in Birmingham last month to discuss how rail connectivity between the two-city-regions could be improved following the government's decision to scrap the Northern leg of HS2 last year. After the meeting, the mayors told the media the new train line would cost 'considerably less' than HS2 would have.
Speaking at the Birmingham offices of Arup, the engineering firm leading the consortium of private companies behind the review, the mayors told the media in February of the three options being considered. Upgrades to some of the 'most constrained' parts of the existing West Coast Mainline and the creation of 'major bypasses' around Stafford and Stockport were also looked at in the review.
Mr Street said the new line would have a 'very small number' of stops - but he could not confirm how many there would be and where. Asked about timescales, he said that he believes one of the three options can be delivered by 2041, as HS2 would have been.
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