Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the potential cost of increasing the capacity of the railway connection between Manchester and Liverpool; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the capacity of that connection on (a) the number of commuters and (b) levels of commerce between those cities.

The Government is actively considering improvements between Liverpool and Manchester, starting with options to lengthen trains in the near term, modernise the route via Warrington and the potential provision of new trains as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

As announced in the Autumn 2024 budget, we are maintaining momentum on Northern Powerhouse Rail by progressing planning and design works to support future delivery. We intend to set out more details in due course.