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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 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: 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
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.


Written Question
Manchester Piccadilly 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, whether Northern Powerhouse Rail will include a six-platform surface turnback station at Manchester Piccadilly; and what the estimated cost of that station is.

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: 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 cost is of the Northern Powerhouse core route between Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street stations.

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

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.

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: 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, if he will make an estimate of the cost of (a) lengthening the Manchester East tunnel by 259 metres and (b) other parts of the new gyratory road junction at J6 of the M56 at Q3 2019 prices; and whether those changes are planned to be implemented as part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail core route.

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
High Speed 2 Line: Manchester Metrolink
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 cost is of the proposed Manchester Metrolink infrastructure in the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill.

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 disagregated further.


Written Question
High Speed 2 Line: Manchester Airport
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 proposed HS2 station at Manchester Airport will be constructed according to the design set out in the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill; and what the estimated cost of the construction is.

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 disagregated further.


Written Question
Railways: Concessions
Monday 15th April 2024

Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will support the introduction of a railcard equivalent with a discount of a third for off-peak rail travel for people (a) living and (b) working in the north of England.

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

There are a range of existing railcards that offer one third off most rail fares that are available to people living and working in the north of England; these include the Senior Railcard, the 26-30 Railcard and the Disabled Persons Railcard.

Any new discounts or concessions made to rail fares must consider the effect on a certain individual or group and be balanced against the financial impact on fare payers in general and the public purse.