The Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce is backing a ‘Northern Arc’ proposal which could bring the long-suggested ‘Hullapool’ electrified rail link into reality.
For years, the Chamber has called for Northern Powerhouse Rail to build a high-speed link from Liverpool to Hull, linking up the two port cities in the West and the East with Sheffield and Leeds. The proposals would see the line electrified all the way into Hull.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, is now taking the fight for a “Northern Arc” to the heart of central Government, meeting with Ministers in London ahead of the Government’s Spending Review this summer to present research backing calls greater investment into transport in the North.
Alongside the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, Mr Burnham will present research from economists at Metro Dynamics which found that the North is losing £36bn a year in productivity due to poor transport links. The study said that, by investing in rail infrastructure stretching from Merseyside to the Pennines and linking to Yorkshire and the Humber, massive growth could be delivered which would boost the national economy.
Mr Burnham said that outdated infrastructure linking Northern cities risks limiting potential and widening the productivity gap with London and the South East.
The Greater Manchester Mayor took to social media ahead of his meeting to say the Northern Arc would be “the game-changer the UK needs”.
The Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce’s External Affairs Director, David Hooper, said: “The Chamber has been lobbying Transport for the North, the Government and the rail industry for the Hullapool line for years now, so we welcome Mr Burnham getting on board to try to make things happen at last.
“Lord David Blunkett’s rail review ahead of the Spending Review was presented by three Yorkshire Mayors to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander in York earlier this month to put forward the initial findings, so let’s hope we can at last have some welcome news.”
In March, the Government did reveal plans to make the Liverpool-Hull corridor an ‘economic superpower’ and rival the Oxford-Cambridge arc.
By: Andrew Spence, LDRS
