Day or night, you won't miss a story with the Liverpool Echo newsletter Sign me up now Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Today the body responsible for improving transport links across the north of England said it will look at plans for a high speed rail link into Liverpool.

A report by Transport for the North says proposals for a new line connecting Liverpool to the high speed rail link, known as HS2 , will be looked at in closer detail by the end of the year.

Cllr Liam Robinson, chair of Merseytravel , welcomed the report and “most notably its explicit recognition of the opportunities presented by a new, twin-track rail link between Liverpool and Manchester which connects onto the planned HS2 network”.

Under the current plans for a new high speed rail link there will be a connection between London and Birmingham, to be opened in 2026, with a second phase of investment between Birmingham and Crewe connecting them via high speed track by 2027.

A Y-shaped construction from Birmingham to Manchester in the North West, and Leeds via Sheffield in the North East is due to be completed by 2033.

But so-called ‘classic’ lines (using existing train lines) will link with the high speed route to and from those cities left out – such as Liverpool under the current plan.

Here we present 17 reasons why there should be a high speed link into Liverpool city region.

1. Liverpool has the fewest rail connections

Liverpool has the fewest direct rail connections to other core cities apart from Cardiff – a high speed rail link would help to mitigate this.

2. £10bn boost to the local econnomy

According to a new report by Linking Liverpool, the campaign to bring high speed rail to Liverpool, a high speed train link such as those proposed by Liverpool City Region will deliver a £10billion boost to the local economy.

3. And lots of new jobs

The same report predicted that the high speed rail link would see the region benefit from an additional 14,000 new jobs plus 10,000 new homes.

4. More tourists

The improved link is also estimated to be likely to bring in three-quarters of a million additional visitors to the city region, building on the successes of recent years .

5. And tourists bring extra cash

The extra tourist visits are estimated to result in a spend of between £44 million and £87 million.

6. And extra jobs in the local tourism industry

The boost to the region’s tourism are predicted to add an additional 890 to 1,740 new jobs in the “visitor economy”.

7. Quicker journeys to Manchester/London

High speed rail would result in faster journeys - including 20 minutes between Liverpool and Manchester and 1 hour 13 minutes between Liverpool and London

8. Increased freight transport...

More importantly a dual track link into the proposed HS2 line, which currently is planned to pass 20 miles from the city, would also ensure the new deep water port (Liverpool2) has the necessary increased capacity for the anticipated rise in freight coming through the port. Currently, 700,000 containers are shipped through the Port of Liverpool each year and with the investments being made in Liverpool2 , this will treble to an estimated 2.1 million.

9. ...Which would also take lorries off the roads

Linked to 8, a high speed link would lead to a saving of 150million HGV miles a year taken off the roads through increased capacity for rail freight to and from Liverpool’s Superport

10. Liverpool could be left behind

According to think tank Respublica, which recently published a report calling for the city region to pay two thirds of the cost of connecting Liverpool to the high speed rail, there is “a danger that HS2, if left ‘unextended’, will widen inequalities between linked and unlinked cities”.

11. A link to HS2 could trigger better east-west connections

The Respublica report also says that connecting Liverpool to the HS2 line would be the first and vital step in “HS3” – a high speed railo link east-west connecting the northern cities and making the so-called “Northern Powerhouse” much more likely to succeed.

12. A rail link will give more equal gains across the north

Experts also say that evidence from abroad suggests that there is a risk that while HS2 will deliver major economic gains for the North of England, these gains may simply end up concentrated in cities such as Manchester and Leeds which can take advantage of a high speed station – and this could be reduced or even avoided by prioritising high speed connections between Northern cities.

13. Work is already planned

There are already major plans for the redevelopment of Lime Street station – this is the ideal opportunity to ensure it can cope with high speed rail too. Last year it was revealed that Liverpool’s main railway station could be shut down for up to two months while major improvement work is carried out – possibly in 2017 or 2018.

14. The city region could help pay for it

Liverpool’s Mayor has said he would back plans for the city region to contribute to the cost of connecting Liverpool to HS2, meaning the city reguion would not be dependent on the Government’s largesse .

15. We could lose £50m a year without high speed rail links

According to the Respublica thinktank report “HS2 as currently envisioned could provide the City Region with a net negative benefit under certain circumstances. The Liverpool local authority area itself, one of the most deprived in the country, stands to lose over £50 million per year under this scenario1 – a major blow to HS2’s claims to rebalance the national economy”.

16. It could help expand the population

There could be an extra 6,700-20,300 residents living within Liverpool City Region depending on the level of high speed rail service Liverpool receives, which at the least would increase economic activity and provide more tax revenues.

17. There is the political support to get on with it

13 MPs representing Liverpool city region constituencies have now signed an open letter backing the Linking Liverpool campaign to bring high speed rail to Liverpool describing the proposals as a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.