A proposed overground station is a cheap and shortsighted alternative to the original Manchester Piccadilly underground station planned, say local leaders
Manchester and London leaders have joined forces in a letter to Transport Secretary Mark Harper calling for HS2’s connection to Manchester Piccadilly to have an underground station, as opposed to planned overground developments.
The letter argues that to support the Northern Powerhouse Rail concept in full, HS2 must also connect with Euston station and not a terminus six miles outside London City Centre.
Previous plans have clashed over whether to have an overground or underground station at Piccadilly
Previous plans to build an underground station adjoined to the northern section of Piccadilly Station that would connect with Manchester Airport, Crewe and Birmingham were scrapped in April 2022, with then-Transport Secretary Grant Schapps saying those plans “would take a lot of money out of other parts of the network”.
The government instead proposed an overground station option, in which trains would emerge from underground in Ardwick and travel on a viaduct over a mile long at a height of twelve metres through the city to reach the surface level station.
A HS2 report indicated that an underground station would cost up to £12bn and extend the project by 13 years, whereas an overground station would only cost £7bn.
But an overground station could endanger Manchester’s levelling up opportunities
These plans were criticised by Greater Manchester leaders as a cheap and inefficient alternative, not only turning large sections of the city into disruptive building sites, but restricting future development on 500,000sq metres of land compromised by the viaduct.
Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig said: “No other European city would start by building rail infrastructure on concrete stilts. It’s an outdated notion of urban planning, more reminiscent of the 1970s than what we want to see in 2040.
“You would not see a scheme like this proposed in London, or another city in the south east. So why should Manchester have to deal with something that’s substandard from day one and that doesn’t deliver on the rail opportunities that HS2 gives?”
Rail Minister Wendy Morton responded by arguing that tunnelling would cause “major city centre disruption”, potentially lead to an extra 350,000 HGV journeys during the construction phase and delay the opening of services into Manchester by “more than seven years”.
Local leaders will appeal the decision later this month
Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig, Mayor of GM Mayor Andy Burnham, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Camden Council Leader Cllr Georgia Gould co-authored the letter.
The letter precedes Manchester City Council’s appearance at the Manchester Piccadilly to the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill Select Committee from 12 June, where they and other partners will make a renewed case for the underground station.
You can read the letter in full here.
