At a trade fair in France, political leaders put the case for a new railway linking Liverpool and Manchester.

The Labour Mayors of Greater Manchester (Andy Burnham) and Liverpool City Region (Steve Rotheram) argued that the new rail link would facilitate investment opportunities in North West England, which could help to drive UK economic growth over the next ten years.

The area from the River Mersey to the Pennines – dubbed the ‘Northern Arc’ – already includes two investment zones and 5.4 million people.

It generates a gross value added (GVA) of £150 billion and exports worth £23.5 billion.

The Mayors argue that the Liverpool-Manchester Railway is the “missing piece” of the North’s transport infrastructure.

Studies have shown that it would add £7 billion GVA to the UK economy, help to create more than 40,000 jobs by 2050 and support the building of around 300,000 new homes over two decades.

They also argue that improving connectivity between locations such as the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Airport will help to boost international trade.

The two Mayors were speaking at an investor round table at the trade fair MIPIM.

Both Mayors are also developing transport services in their own city region, including extending contactless payment in Greater Manchester and step-free rail services in Liverpool.

Greater Manchester city region has a ten-year plan to deliver £1 billion of investment each year over the next decade. The plan is targeted at six Growth Locations.

These include the Old Trafford Regeneration Scheme, which is the biggest sports-led regeneration scheme since the 2012 Olympics in London.

Liverpool City Region aims to attract investment in health and life sciences, artificial intelligence (AI) and culture.

Health and life sciences projects include the £38m unique Mental Health Digital Research Centre at Maghull Health Park.

The Liverpool end of the Liverpool-Manchester Railway will include the regeneration of Central Station.

“The sheer scale of untapped growth potential of the North means that, with the right government support, the size of the prize could match that of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc. This is not about competing – we are already creating valuable partnerships with Cambridge – it’s about recognising that this approach to creating superclusters can deliver the same, if not greater economic clout in the North West than anywhere else in the country.”

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester