© Jason Lock Photography

Northern Powerhouse Rail investment set to boost Oxford Road Corridor connectivity and growth

The plans will form a key part of the Government’s forthcoming Northern Growth Strategy, announced this week through a policy paper that highlights the Oxford Road Corridor as one of the North’s major economic assets. 

Greater Manchester leaders have welcomed the announcement, which includes £1.1 billion of funding over the current Spending Review period to allow planning, development and design work on NPR to begin immediately. Joint work between Greater Manchester and Government will now start at pace on detailed plans and the business case for the new Liverpool–Manchester railway.

Transformational connectivity for the Corridor

As part of the plans, options for a new underground station at Manchester Piccadilly will be explored, alongside a new station at Manchester Airport. The preferred underground option at Piccadilly would allow trains to run through the station, improving reliability, capacity and journey times while unlocking land for regeneration in and around the city centre.

These proposals are particularly significant for the Oxford Road Corridor, placing its globally significant education, health and research institutions within easier reach of national and international partners. Improved rail connectivity will strengthen links between Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, York and beyond, while integrating seamlessly with the Bee Network to ensure benefits are felt across Greater Manchester.

The entirely new line between Liverpool and Manchester — via Warrington and Manchester Airport — will be delivered as part of the second phase of NPR in the 2030s. The scheme underpins the wider Northern Growth Corridor, which could generate around £90bn in additional GVA by 2040.

Supporting innovation, talent and collaboration

Faster, more reliable and more frequent connections will enhance the Oxford Road Corridor’s offer to globally mobile businesses, students and researchers, supporting deeper collaboration between the UK’s Knowledge Quarters and innovation ecosystems. By improving access to Manchester’s universities, hospitals and cultural institutions, NPR will help sustain the Corridor’s role as a driver of inclusive economic growth and opportunity.

Manchester City Council Leader, Cllr Bev Craig said

“This is a massive moment for Manchester. We have campaigned long and hard for much-needed investment in rail in the city and across the North – better linking the great cities and towns of the North – to create and support jobs, regeneration and other opportunities for our people. The previous Government failed us. But today’s announcement is a serious commitment to that vision after years of frustration”.

After many years of us making the case, for the first time a Government has recognised the potential benefits of an underground station and in the coming years we will work closely and constructively with Government to see that become a reality.

Manchester is a city going from strength-to-strength. This investment in vital rail infrastructure will accentuate and enable the city’s success, and its contribution to the North’s success, in the years ahead.” 

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said,

“Finally, we have a government with an ambitious vision for the North, firm commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail and an openness to an underground station in Manchester city centre. A modernised Manchester Piccadilly could become the Kings Cross of the North, acting as a catalyst for major growth in our city region and beyond.  

Over the past decade, we’ve become the UK’s fastest growing city region, but underinvestment in rail infrastructure has long acted as a brake on further growth. Today marks a significant step forward for Greater Manchester. We’ll now work at pace to prove the case for an underground station and work up detailed designs for the route between Liverpool and Manchester”.

In its first decade of devolution, Greater Manchester has become the UK’s fastest-growing city region, with average annual growth of 3.1% since 2015. Investment in Northern Powerhouse Rail is expected to ensure that momentum continues – reinforcing the Oxford Road Corridor’s position at the heart of the North’s innovation economy.