Growth Track 360 leaders, who are pushing for better rail services, say that the High Speed Rail (HS2) link to Manchester must come alongside electrification of the Chester and North Wales main line.
The HS2 (Crewe to Manchester) Bill was introduced to Parliament last month but while Welsh taxpayers will contribute towards the £100bn+ cost the line does not enter Wales – and some experts believe could actually be detrimental to the nation’s economy.
Business and local authority leaders from North Wales, the Wirral and Cheshire West and Chester – who form the Growth Track 360 partnership – want the economic benefits shared with their regions through electrification of the line from Crewe to Holyhead.
If done simultaneously it would be possible to introduce direct, electric, high-speed services over this route at the same time as HS2 launches at Crewe.
Growth Track 360 Chair and Leader of Cheshire West & Chester Council, Councillor Louise Gittins, said: “It’s time to join up the thinking, the planning and the financing of our railways so that electrification brings to West Cheshire, the City of Chester and the whole of North Wales the full benefit of the major investment in HS2 being made using taxpayers’ money to which all of our residents and businesses contribute.”
Growth Track 360 Vice Chair and Leader of Flintshire Council, Councillor Ian Roberts, said: “Our industrial, commercial and tourism destinations would receive a tremendous boost through enhanced direct rail connectivity with London, Manchester and Manchester Airport provided by HS2 if our local lines are upgraded at the same time.”
