To unlock the full potential of HS2 calls for the North Wales Main Line between Warrington, Crewe, Chester, and Holyhead to be electrified have been made by Growth Track 360.
Established in 2016 to unite North Wales, the Wirral, Cheshire West, and Chester, Growth Track 360 is a public-private partnership that aims to improve cross-border transport connectivity with a specific emphasis on rail.
Following the UK Secretary of State for Transport's announcement on 9th March that there would be a two-year delay to the completion of construction work on HS2 between Birmingham and Crewe, Business and local authority leaders in the Growth Track 360 partnership reacted by renewing their call for investment to be made in the existing network so that their cross-border region can take full advantage of the new railway.
To support their call for investment, Growth Track 360 is campaigning for:
- Chester station to be completely modernised so that it is a suitable gateway for tourism and commerce to Cheshire and North Wales;
- The North Wales Main Line from Holyhead to Crewe and Warrington to be electrified, which would allow HS2 trains to run directly from London and Birmingham to Chester and beyond.
Last year, a conceptual artwork was commissioned by Growth Track 360 to assist the public in visualising what these proposed improvements would look like. The artwork was produced by Nataliia Marchuk, a Ukrainian Fine Arts undergraduate at the University of Chester, and shows an HS2 train passing Conwy Castle on an electrified North Wales Main Line.
Growth Track 360 Chair and Leader of Cheshire West & Chester Council, Councillor Louise Gittins, said: “HS2 is a vital component in our cross-border and all-party vision for connectivity in the twenty-first century, yet its potential contribution to decarbonised travel to and from Chester and North Wales continues to be underestimated, even by many of its most enthusiastic proponents.
“Growth Track 360 wants the North Wales Main Line electrified so that we can see faster, cleaner and more frequent passenger and freight trains in the medium term and be HS2-ready when the line reaches Crewe.”
Growth Track 360 Vice Chair and Leader of Flintshire Council, Councillor Ian Roberts, said: “North East Wales is currently missing-out on significant transport infrastructure investment and is being denied the opportunity to play its full part in unlocking the potential of the cross-border industrial and tourism sectors which we share with our neighbours in North West England.
“The prospect of electrification of the North Wales Main Line and through running of HS2 trains would provide us with an unrivalled opportunity to attract inward investment and give our young people the chance to enjoy well-paid employment in their own communities.”
Ashley Rogers, GT360 Business Representative, Chief Executive of the North Wales Mersey Dee Business Council, said: “Electrification of the existing main line to Chester and then Crewe would plug our cross-border region directly into HS2 vastly improving connectivity to the rest of the UK and helping to decarbonise business.
“Our world-class manufacturing sector employs 63,000 people and the tourism sector attracts almost 80 million visitors a year. We are a regional powerhouse that deserves this crucial transport investment.”
Shadow Rail Minister, Tan Dhesi MP, on a prearranged visit to Chester meeting Growth Track 360 leaders on Friday, said: “Electrification of the North Wales Main Line should form a key component of a rolling programme of electrification for the railways across Britain. HS2 needs to be completed in full as soon as possible to equip the UK to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by the transformation to a Net Zero Carbon economy.”
The obsession with electrification of rail ignores emerging clean energy sources that deliver similar benefits without the hugely costly and disruptive infrastructure projects that take years to fund and build. Focus the investment on trains fuelled by clean energy and reap the benefits now, not in 10 or 15 or 25 years time
The problem is that such infrastructure projects have to be paid for ( probably by the English taxpayers).
I totally agree that should go ahead. The government should NEVER have pulled the plug on ending electrification at Cardiff on the South Wales route . Millions were spent at the Swansea end on gantries, overhead work etc only for it all to be dismantled . What a waste of money …. so much for helping global warming !
Not to mention electrification from Didcot Parkway to Oxford.
If the North Wales Main Line is to be electrified. Then how comes that Avanti West Coast ordered the Class 805 Bi-mode trains that will operate on the North Wales Main Line. What about continuing on with the electrification to Swansea.
Talking nosey! It can’t be NET ZERO good for our environment because all power is from the coal/nuclear power stations! When install new electric overhead, they have to use the machines which make more emission up to the air. Rail workers have to arrive in by vehicles, not walking.