Manchester Airport calls for HS2 rail in full - and tells government to get 'serious'
manchestereveningnews.co.ukManchester Airport has called for the HS2 rail line to be built in full as promised - from London to Manchester. In a strongly-worded statement issued today as the Government reportedly considers axing the route to Manchester over soaring costs, the incoming chief executive officer of Manchester Airports Group (MAG) said the North has been 'held back for too long by the lack of an integrated transport network'.
Ken O'Toole, who will succeed outgoing CEO Charlie Cornish next week, stressed the vital need for Northern Powerhouse Rail, east-west rail links between Manchester and outlying towns and cities, which relies on HS2 as lines are shared. READ MORE: 'In the dark' mayor and council leader write to Rishi Sunak over 'massive ramifications' of axing HS2 to Manchester READ MORE: 'HS2 was designed to unite the North and the South' Any Government 'serious about rebalancing the economy', he argued, must be 'clear in its support for these transformative schemes'.
Reports suggest Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are considering shelving the high-speed rail route north of Birmingham after delays to other legs were announced.
Phase 1 of HS2 covered London Euston to Birmingham Curzon Street, with intermediate stations at Old Oak Common in the western suburbs of London and at Birmingham Airport.
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