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Written Question
Railways: North of England
Monday 22nd April 2024

Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the (a) route and (b) preliminary design for Northern Powerhouse Rail west of the HS2 Junction at Hoo Green has been determined; and how much funding has been allocated to that route.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Work on the NPR scheme between Liverpool and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne, is currently at strategic scheme development stage. This work is being carried out in line with WMS of 25 March, which set out that Northern Powerhouse Rail will develop a route that is in favour of serving Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Airport and will use the previously proposed route between the parish of Millington and Rostherne and Manchester. A formal consultation on the remainder of the preferred route is expected to take place in due course.


Written Question
Railways: North of England
Monday 22nd April 2024

Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Ashley railhead is required for the Northern Powerhouse Rail core route; and how much funding has been allocated for that railhead.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The government is seeking to adapt the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) only, removing scope south of the Parish of Millington and Rostherne, which was included only for HS2. A motion to formalise the point of truncation will be brought to the House and a supplementary environmental statement will be produced.

As set out in the Network North Command paper, £12 billion in 2023 prices has been retained to deliver NPR scope between Manchester and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne. The funding has not been disaggregated further.


Written Question
Railways: Warrington
Monday 22nd April 2024

Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans Northern Powerhouse Rail has to upgrade the Fiddlers Ferry line; and how much budget has been allocated to that line.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Work on the NPR scheme between Liverpool and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne, is currently at strategic scheme development stage. This work is being carried out in line with WMS of 25 March, which set out that Northern Powerhouse Rail will develop a route that is in favour of serving Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Airport and will use the previously proposed route between the parish of Millington and Rostherne and Manchester. A formal consultation on the remainder of the preferred route is expected to take place in due course.


Written Question
Railways: North of England
Monday 22nd April 2024

Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the estimated timescale is for the (a) completion and (b) opening of the (i) Northern Powerhouse Rail core route between Manchester and Liverpool and (ii) eastern tunnel section between Manchester and Marsden.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) will transform rail connectivity by providing faster and more frequent services between the North of England’s key economic centres. The government aims to complete Northern Powerhouse Rail by the mid-2040s.


Written Question
Railways: Liverpool
Monday 22nd April 2024

Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what additional work his Department plans to carry out within (a) the Edge Hill Cutting, (b) the station throat and (c) to the platform arrangements to accommodate extra services to the southern approach to Liverpool Lime Street as proposed by Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2; and how much budget has been allocated to this element of Northern Powerhouse Rail at Q3 2019 prices.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Work on the NPR scheme between Liverpool and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne, is currently at strategic scheme development stage. This work is being carried out in line with WMS of 25 March, which set out that Northern Powerhouse Rail will develop a route that is in favour of serving Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Airport and will use the previously proposed route between the parish of Millington and Rostherne and Manchester. A formal consultation on the remainder of the preferred route is expected to take place in due course.


Written Question
Railways: West Yorkshire
Monday 22nd April 2024

Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether feasibility work has been undertaken for the proposed tunnel to Marsden; and how much budget has been allocated to that tunnel.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Work on the NPR scheme between Manchester Piccadilly and West Yorkshire is currently at strategic scheme development stage. A formal consultation on the route is expected to take place in due course.


Written Question
Railways: North of England
Monday 22nd April 2024

Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Ashley Satellite Infrastructure Maintenance Base – Rail is required for the Northern Powerhouse core route; and how much funding has been allocated for its construction.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The government is seeking to adapt the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) only, removing scope south of the Parish of Millington and Rostherne, which was included only for HS2. A motion to formalise the point of truncation will be brought to the House and a supplementary environmental statement will be produced.

As set out in the Network North Command paper, £12 billion in 2023 prices has been retained to deliver NPR scope between Manchester and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne. The funding has not been disaggregated further.


Written Question
Warrington Bank Quay Station
Monday 22nd April 2024

Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, where will the new Warrington Bank Quay station be located; how many platforms that station will have; and what the Northern Powerhouse Rail budget is for that station.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Work on the NPR scheme between Liverpool and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne is currently at strategic scheme development stage. This work is being carried out in line with the favoured calling points set out in the WMS of 25 March, to include new platforms at Warrington Bank Quay. We are keen to understand Warrington Borough Council’s priorities and to ensure views on the priorities and any alternatives are understood.


Written Question
Railways: North of England
Monday 22nd April 2024

Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the junction between Phase 2b of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail will be removed from the adapted Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme; and how much funding has been allocated to the construction of that junction.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The government is seeking to adapt the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) only, removing scope south of the Parish of Millington and Rostherne, which was included only for HS2. A motion to formalise the point of truncation will be brought to the House and a supplementary environmental statement will be produced.

As set out in the Network North Command paper, up to £12 billion in 2023 prices has been retained to deliver NPR scope between Manchester and the Parish of Millington and work on the NPR scheme between Liverpool and Millington, and Manchester Piccadilly and West Yorkshire is currently at strategic scheme development stage. This work is being carried out in line with WMS of 25 March, which set out that Northern Powerhouse Rail will develop a route that is in favour of serving Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Airport and will use the previously proposed route Millington and Manchester. A formal consultation on the remainder of the preferred route is expected to take place following this work.


Written Question
Railways: Greater Manchester
Monday 22nd April 2024

Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of Government funding has been allocated to the construction of the Manchester Tunnel between Manchester Piccadilly station and the proposed HS2 Manchester Airport; and whether he plans to amend the specification to allow Northern Powerhouse Rail trains to operate.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The government is seeking to adapt the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) only, removing scope south of the Parish of Millington and Rostherne, which was included only for HS2. A motion to formalise the point of truncation will be brought to the House and a supplementary environmental statement will be produced.

As set out in the Network North Command paper, up to £12 billion in 2023 prices has been retained to deliver NPR scope between Manchester and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne. The funding has not been disaggregated further.