THE HS2 project set to transform mainline rail travel across the country will deliver a series of exciting benefits for Liverpool, which have now been revealed.

The Northern Powerhouse Rail (previously HS3) will mean a high-speed rail link from Liverpool to Manchester and Leeds, meaning connecting to HS2.

That would mean Liverpool-Manchester journey times of approximately 22 minutes, with the Liverpool to London journey taking around an hour and 25 minutes.

But aside from that obvious benefit, there will also be a number of others, which were revealed at the Liverpool City Region combined authority’s transport committee on Thursday.

They were:

  • A total of 2m more people could reach Liverpool within 90 minutes. That will also mean 10m more people have access to four or more northern cities within 90 minutes – a five-fold increase.
  • There will be a predicted £15bn economic growth.
  • It could create 24,000 additional jobs…
  • … and 11,000 new homes needed to support a growing region.
  • There will be 3.6m additional visitors to the region each year.
  • It will mean a new city centre train station for Liverpool, with further details to be announced shortly.
  • As previously reported, the move would also mean Liverpool-Manchester journey times of approximately 22 minutes, with the Liverpool to London journey taking around an hour and 25 minutes.

That plan would mean freeing up space on existing rail lines – opening up more capacity for freight services to and from the Port of Liverpool.

Addressing the committee, Tom Carbery, rail development advisor in relation to the Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2, told councillors: “Officers have worked really hard on this.

“When the business case was first made, there was little reference to the visitor economy, but work has now been done to ensure there’s substantial output on benefits for the visitor economy.

“A massive amount of work and ambition has gone into this. That’s what we have come together to try and push for.”

Campaigners have been calling for Liverpool to get a direct high-speed rail link ever since the city was missed out in the first plans for HS2.

Local business and political leaders joined forces in the Linking Liverpool campaign to call for a new high-speed line to be built linking Liverpool and Manchester.

That line would connect to HS2 from London to Manchester, giving Liverpool much faster links to London.

In January, the plan was given official backing by Transport for the North, the body set up to improve transport across the north of England.