Rail bosses have explained why they won't be funding an underground station at Manchester Piccadilly as part of HS2 - claiming its '£5bn cost' and the disruption it would cause outweigh the benefit. Northern leaders have long-warned that an overground station will 'blight' a huge swathe of the city centre, damage the economy and limit future capacity on our congested rail network.
But in November, with the release of the Government's Integrated Rail Plan (IPR), it became clear that warnings from politicians and engineers alike had not been heeded when a preference was stated for a surface level 'turn back' station. And this week, they finally provided an explanation, with High Speed Rail director general Clive Maxwell claiming it would be too costly to go underground.
Mr Maxwell appeared before the Public Accounts Committee, where Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston Kate Green asked the panel to explain the analysis of the costs and benefits of the Manchester station.
