Underground high speed rail station in Manchester would cost £10bn, says report

Richard George was commissioned to carry out an inquiry into whether an underground station costing £6bn or a surface station at a fraction of the cost would be the best option for HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) trains at Manchester Piccadilly station.

But Mr George, who was recently appointed to lead the public-sector operator in charge of Northern rail services, concluded in a report that both options should be included in the upcoming review of how high speed rail should work in the North.

And he said the city's "existing inadequate railway infrastructure" would eventually struggle to cope with the proposed high speed rail schemes as well as the upgrade of the trans-Pennine route connecting Manchester with Leeds and York.

Strategic body Transport for the North and Greater Manchester metro mayor Andy Burnham have been at odds over the Piccadilly scheme, with the row prompting another northern metro mayor, Ben Houchen of the Tees Valley, to criticise the amount of attention Manchester gets at the expense of other cities.

The confidential report seen by The Yorkshire Post says: "Once the station configuration is finally decided and committed – I believe it is essential that all parties work together to support that decision regardless of their current position. The change in governance arrangements may help to re-set some currently strained relationships."

The dispute over how high speed rail should arrive in Manchester had threatened to delay the legislation for phase 2b of HS2, the controversial scheme connecting London with Yorkshire, being deposited in the Commons.

But it will now be considered as part of the High Speed North review commissioned by the Government after Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally gave HS2 the green light last month.

The Yorkshire Post revealed in August that Mr Burnham had refused to support plans for the £39bn NPR scheme connecting the great cities of the North because it includes a surface extension to Piccadilly station to accommodate high speed rail rather than an underground station.

Transport for the North, which is submitting the plans to the government, says a six-platform, 400 metre station above ground that can accommodate NPR and the HS2 high speed line from London would deliver the same benefits as an underground site for a fraction of the cost.

Mr George, Director of Transport for the 2012 London Olympics, was called in to carry out an independent review into the best way forward. His report will be discussed at a meeting for Transport for the North's board next week but has been seen by The Yorkshire Post.

The rail consultant wrote that if the idea of an above-ground station at Manchester Piccadilly for HS2 was 'fixed' then a combined surface-level station for the two schemes was "the logical and cost-effective way forward" as it was cheaper than all other options.

The report said a surface station accommodating NPR would cost £2.5bn more than an HS2-only option, including £1.6bn because of the cost of re-routing the line via the village of Diggle, near Oldham. But a four-platform underground station would cost as much as £10bn more, including the re-routing costs.

Mr George said another option worthy of consideration was to have both HS2 and NPR stations underground, a similar conclusion to a separate review prepared by engineering firm Bechtel and commissioned by Manchester city council.

This option, he said, would require a complete overhaul of the funding available for HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail as well as the legislation for the 250mph line connecting London with Leeds and Manchester.

Mr George recommended that High Speed North, the review by the National Infrastructure Commission into how the two flagship rail projects will work together, "include the two principal Piccadilly station options in their review of costs and budget".

And he said the Department for Transport and Treasury "will need to consider all the cost estimates, long term value for money and the overall funding envelope of the High Speed North combined projects".

He wrote: "It appears to me that there are some very different questions to answer. If the question is 'What is the most cost-effective solution for a linked HS2/NPR station in Manchester?' The answer is unquestionably an integrated HS2/NPR surface station.

"But if the question is 'What is the best way forward for the long-term development of the land use and transport Infrastructure of Manchester?' The answer could be very different.

"I agree with Manchester City Council that Manchester must inevitably start moving its transport infrastructure underground.

"It is simply not sustainable over the next 100 years that the city can continue with its existing inadequate railway infrastructure and with the new railway infrastructure required that it can keep building more railways on the surface of Central Manchester.

"Given that there are significant railway infrastructure capacity issues for the existing rail services of Manchester I have serious doubts that the classic railway infrastructure will cope with [trans-Pennine Route Upgrade], HS2 and the NPR and all the additional local passenger distribution capacity that will be required to go with them.

"Solving some of these classic railway capacity issues by going underground looks inevitable – at some stage."

Henri Murison, Director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “We welcome the approach taken by Richard George to look at both options on the table – and decide what’s in the best interests of the economic development of Manchester city and communities across the Northern Powerhouse.

"This is not just a stations proposal, it is key to linking up our regions across the UK, and should be considered as such.

“At a time when Treasury is rightly reviewing their cost-benefit analysis to ensure that infrastructure in the UK is delivered efficiently but effectively in long-term, it is important that both proposals for Manchester and key wider decisions like for a Bradford City Centre station are properly costed and evidenced before a decision is made by Whitehall to exclude the preference of northern leaders from further consideration.”

The Greater Manchester mayor's office and Transport for the North declined to comment.

Transport for the North is currently working on an updated business case for the NPR scheme, with the aim of submitting it to government by January. Political leaders say it is vital the scheme does not just go from Leeds to Manchester and reaches other cities across northern England.