HS2: Manchester's leaders urge rethink on overground hub plan

The current proposals would see an overground station built alongside Manchester Piccadilly

Manchester's leaders have appealed for the government to rethink "flawed" plans for an HS2 hub in the city.

Plans for an underground hub at Manchester Piccadilly have been dropped in favour of an overground option.

Ahead of a Commons debate on Monday, Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig said the "unsightly" hub would "take £333m out of the city's economy" and not help with rail capacity.

An underground station would cost an additional £5bn, the government said.

The HS2 project is designed to create high-speed rail links between London and major cities in the Midlands and North of England.

Ms Craig told BBC North West Tonight there were major issues with a six-platform overground station, plans for which go before MPs on Monday as part of the second reading of the proposed High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill.

'Wrong solution'

She said the Labour-run council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority intend to submit a "petition" objecting to elements of the bill and calling for changes.

She said a station on ground level would waste "prime land", which could have supported 14,000 jobs, and would do nothing to boost rail capacity in the city.

"It is not just about better and faster connectivity with London and Birmingham; it is about being able to give the capacity that we need to Manchester and the North rail systems, which are already creaking," she said.

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She said there would "undoubtedly... be a greater cost having it beneath ground", but spending "a bit more money upfront will have longer term benefits".

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham warned the government that "patience was wearing thin" over the plans.

Mr Burnham said that the current proposals would "fail to deliver the major rail improvements successive governments have promised", while providing the "wrong solution" for the city.

"It will be at capacity from day one, it won't be future-proofed, and it takes away Manchester City Council's aspirations to have economic growth," the Labour mayor said.

The mayor added the city-region's support for the HS2 Bill "cannot be taken for granted".

Their comments came ten days after the government scrapped plans to build a £3bn rail link between HS2 and the West Coast Main Line.

A spokeswoman from the Department for Transport said: "We have worked with stakeholders and Greater Manchester partners from the outset and throughout the design stages of HS2, to deliver the best solution for the region.

"Our analysis found that an underground station would cause major disruption during construction and take passengers longer to reach platforms, cancelling out the benefits of faster journeys, all at an additional cost of up to £5bn while significantly delaying the introduction of full HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail services."

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