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.

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.