By Stephen Topping
Copyright manchestereveningnews
Rachel Reeves insists Labour will ‘push ahead’ with Northern Powerhouse Rail. The Chancellor made the promise in her speech to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool today (September 29). A proposed east-west, high-speed railway across the North has been a long time coming, having first been mooted in 2014 when George Osborne was in charge of the country’s purse strings. Current proposals for the railway would see a new line built between Liverpool and Manchester, via Warrington and Manchester Airport , at at forecast cost of £17 billion. Sign up to the MEN Politics newsletter Due North here It would include an underground Piccadilly station and provide services every 10 minutes, with journeys lasting around 35 minutes between the two cities. The project was recently criticised by Reform UK, which vowed to scrap the proposal , insisting the money should be spent on existing railway lines instead. But backers of Northern Powerhouse Rail insist it is designed to boost capacity on those existing lines, while it could unlock £90 billion in economic growth. Speaking at Labour conference, Ms Reeves said: “As well as the Transpennine route upgrade to link Manchester, Leeds and York and the towns in between them, this Labour Government will push ahead with our plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail. “Plans never delivered by the Conservatives , plans opposed by Reform, but backed by this Labour Government. “A vote of confidence in the north of England to get people to work, to connect families, to create jobs and to build build prosperity in towns and cities scarred by underinvestment for far too long. “That is what we are achieving together: a Labour Government, working with our Labour leaders around the country, delivering for working people.” Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE In May, the Manchester Evening News joined forces with the Liverpool Echo to urge the government to back Northern Powerhouse Rail. A more detailed announcement on the future of Northern Powerhouse Rail is expected to take place within weeks .
