Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the rail journey times between Leigh and HS2 stations in (a) Wigan, (b) Manchester Airport and (c) Manchester Piccadilly.

Leigh’s closest HS2 station, Wigan North Western, will be served by HS2 trains following completion of HS2 Phase One in 2026, and by 2033 will be served by HS2 trains from London, Birmingham, Preston and Scotland.

The department has made no assessment of the costs of a direct rail line or rail journey times between Leigh and HS2.

The government has provided Greater Manchester Combined Authority with £2.5m to develop HS2 Growth Strategies, which include plans for improving connectivity across Greater Manchester to the planned HS2 stations. Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Transport for Greater Manchester are advancing their wider plans for connectivity across the city region through their Greater Manchester 2040 Transport Strategy.

The government has committed £300m to future-proof HS2 to support Transport for the North’s ambition for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) between the North’s largest cities. Transport for the North are currently developing the business case for NPR, which includes investigating serving other significant economic centres.