Former West Midlands Mayor Andy Street welcomes plans for new rail link between Birmingham and Manchester

Mr Street (Conservative) and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham (Labour) were previously working together to discuss alternatives to the northern leg of HS2, controversially axed in 2023.

They warned in 2024 that ‘doing nothing was not an option’ as they outlined three potential plans – one of which involved building a new rail line.

Almost two years later, the Labour government recently announced its intention to build a new rail link between Birmingham and Manchester.

Not much is known about this new route but it may not be built until after the completion of the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) scheme, which includes proposals for new and improved rail links across the North of England

This means this new link between Birmingham and Manchester may not happen for decades.

Reacting to the government’s plans, Mr Street said: “The good news is they’ve agreed with what we said, that there has to be an upgrade and there’s logic to a new route.

“The bad news is that it’s hugely delayed but at least the idea is alive.

“We kept that idea alive after the decision of [former Prime Minister] Rishi Sunak to scrap the northern leg of HS2.

“So good cross-party working and I’m convinced that has influenced the current government and their plans.”

He continued: “It’s just so obvious if you build a fast line to Birmingham and you build a fast line across the Pennines, the missing link is actually the easiest bit to do.

“So at some point I’m confident that will happen – and it’s the most congested part of the railway so many advantages of doing it.”

Back in January, the announcement of a new line was met with derision from the Conservative group at Birmingham City Council.

“This is a complete non-announcement from a government desperate for positive headlines,” Coun Timothy Huxtable, shadow cabinet member for transport, said at the time.

“A vague promise of a new line from Birmingham to Manchester, which will only start in two decades’ time, will do nothing for either city now.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the government was “rolling up its sleeves to deliver real, lasting change for millions of people through Northern Powerhouse Rail”.

He described it as a “major new rail network across the North that will deliver faster, more frequent services”.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham added: “Finally, we have a government with an ambitious vision for the North, firm commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail and an openness to an underground station in Manchester city centre.”

‘No earthly sense’

Mr Street, who was ousted as Mayor by Labour’s Richard Parker in 2024, was also asked about calls to axe HS2 from political figures such as Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice, who described it as “wasteful” and the “train to nowhere”.

“If it was scrapped now, it would just be writing off many billions of pounds so there’s no earthly sense in that at all,” he said. “It’s utter nonsense.”

He continued: “We have to finish as quickly as possible to make good on the investment.

“I am still a believer that we’ve got to make a network that goes all the way to Manchester and beyond to get an advantage from what we’ve spent.

“But it is utterly reasonable to say not a penny will be spent beyond Birmingham until we’ve got a grip of our costs.”

When it comes to the future of the high-speed railway project, the former Mayor said: “To be fair to the new CEO of HS2, he has said he’s doing a reset.

“He does need to set a new target date and everybody then needs to get behind that.

“What also we need to get back to is selling the benefits of this – why did successive governments all say it was the right thing to do?

“Those benefits are about economic regeneration, [improving] capacity on the West Coast Main Line and environmental benefits so let’s get back to selling the big picture and proving Britain can do major infrastructure projects.”

In an end of year update, HS2 CEO Mark Wild said that he made a commitment to address “the failures of the past and get HS2 on track”.

“It’s clear that we can only do so with a fundamental reset,” he continued.

“Over the last year we’ve been through the programme with a fine tooth comb and we’re now very close to establishing a clear path forward.

“However, we’ve not stood still. We had to deliver a safe and productive year while HS2 was reset and I want to thank the 34,000 people working on the project every day for their tremendous hard work.

“The solid progress they’ve made in the last year gives us strong foundations to build upon.”