Manchester is set to be offered faster train journeys as the Bill for next phase of HS2 is announced by the Government today.
The announcement outlines plans to extend HS2 from Crewe up to Manchester and beyond, also creating 17,500 direct jobs across the North West.
It comes as part of the £96bn commitment in the Integrated Rail Plan to deliver faster and better journeys across the North quicker than under previous plans.
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New 'High Speed stations' will also be built at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport, making way for new lines to Leeds and Liverpool, as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR).
Passengers across the North West have been promised faster, greener and more reliable train services as a result of the structure.
But Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has slammed the new plans saying they are 'wrong' for the future of the North.
On Monday the Government will introduce the Bill for the next phase of HS2.
Once approved, the ‘High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill’ will allow HS2 to continue its journey from Crewe up to Manchester, creating a new transport spine across the North West.
The government claims the line is set to 'boost local economies through better connections, more capacity, improved reliability and slashed journey times.'
Plans could cut travelling time from London to Manchester by around 55 minutes and Birmingham to Manchester by up to 45 minutes.
It is also set to bring 17,500 direct jobs to the North, supporting the construction of the Crewe-Manchester leg, the government says.
These include skilled permanent jobs, including in rolling stock depots to be established north of Crewe as well as in Dumfries and Galloway.
Part of the new high speed line will also be used for Northern Powerhouse Rail services between Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, helping cut the Manchester Piccadilly - Liverpool journey to 35 minutes and Leeds-Liverpool to around an hour and a quarter.
The capacity is also set to double, or more, on routes between Manchester and London/Birmingham.
When Northern Powerhouse Rail is completed, similar capacity increases to Leeds and Liverpool are set to follow, with trains using the new High Speed Line and stations at Manchester.
You can view the proposed route of the new HS2 western leg in the interactive map below. The yellow line represents the proposed route. Purple lines will be overground viaducts. Areas of the map surrounded by a red border have been designated "l and potentially required during construction".
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We are determined to improve transport connections and level up communities across the country and this Bill marks a landmark moment as we bring HS2 to Manchester and lay the foundations for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
“Our £96bn investment in rail in the North and Midlands and in connecting them to London will bring communities together, create thousands of jobs and make towns and cities in these key areas more attractive to business up to 10 years quicker than under any previous plans.
“The IRP is the blueprint for the government’s commitment to building better transport links, generating prosperity and opportunity across the North and Midlands bringing benefits up to 10 years sooner than previously planned, all while delivering on levelling up the country.”
The Bill will also allow for a new high speed stations and junctions to be built at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport.
In addition to this, a new junction near Crewe will be developed to give it the 'potential to be a Hub station in mid-Cheshire able to accommodate more trains.'
HS2 Ltd also announced that it will aim to deliver a 10 per cent net gain in biodiversity for replaceable habitats on the Crewe to Manchester route.
This comes less than two weeks after the HS2 Minister announced that HS2 trains will run on zero carbon energy from day one.
However Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has slammed the plans and asked for an underground station to better 'level up' between the north and south.
He added that the development of a HS2 station above ground will mean losing prime development land and its economic opportunity.
Commenting on the current HS2 plan for Greater Manchester, he said: “We remain committed to working with the Government to bring HS2 to our city-region. But we remain of the view that this is the wrong plan, both for Greater Manchester and for the North as a whole.
“Building HS2 on the surface at Manchester Piccadilly means the new station will be at full capacity from day one. It means the new train services from Liverpool and Leeds having to reverse out.
"It also means forever losing prime development land and the economic opportunity that goes with it.
“We also again have to ask again: why is Greater Manchester the only part of the country being asked to make a substantial financial contribution to the cost of HS2?
“We believe there is a better plan which would do much more to level up the North of England with the South. An underground station would be an investment in building a bigger Northern economy and would pay for itself over time.
"It could also help deliver an entirely new line between Manchester and Leeds, which is what we were promised.
“We call on the Government to listen to the North and work with us to get right solution. This decision will have a huge bearing on the future of the North for the rest of this century and the next and it is vital that it is not sold short.
"We will be pressing the case for major changes to the Bill and seeking the support of MPs on all sides.”
