Latest News

Growth Track 360 welcomes breakthrough on rail services

Published: 20/10/2021

Growth Track 360 welcomes breakthrough on rail services to Manchester and urges Chancellor to invest £20 million in improving vital railways linking North Wales, Cheshire, Wirral and Liverpool.

Business and local authority leaders from North Wales, the Wirral and Cheshire West and Chester in the Growth Track 360 partnership have welcomed the agreement between Transport for the North (TfN) and the UK Government on a new and improved rail timetable for Manchester from December 2022 which will see direct trains continuing to connect Manchester Airport with North Wales, Chester and Liverpool.

Growth Track 360 Vice Chair and Leader of Flintshire Council, Councillor Ian Roberts, said:

“Growth Track 360 responded vigorously in March to the consultation on future rail services to and from Manchester and, in particular, its airport which is the key aviation gateway for North Wales and Cheshire.  We are delighted with the news of the progress being made and will continue to engage with all parties as the final train timetable is refined.

“GT360 will work with Transport for the North to seek the infrastructure investments that will enable improved rail access to central Manchester and the Airport for all parts of the North including North Wales and the Mersey Dee cross border area.”

Growth Track 360 Business Representative, Ashley Rogers, Commercial Director of the North Wales Mersey Dee Business Council said:

“The welcome news on progress with rail access to Manchester serves to highlight the need for major improvements to rail capacity in our region to enhance the speed, frequency and reliability of trains.  This is why Growth Track 360 has made a renewed call to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for a 3-year, £20 million development fund with which to make rapid and tangible progress on three key rail projects:

1. Wrexham to Liverpool Transformation: Twenty-First Century Travel in a Corridor of World Class Industries;

2. North Wales Coast Mainline: Developing Low Carbon Energy and Expanding Overseas and British Tourism Sustainably in an Area of Extraordinary Beauty; and

3. Chester Station Modernisation: A Millennial Gateway for a City of Millennia.”