Northern Hub

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The Northern Hub was a rail upgrade programme between 2009 and 2020 in Northern England to improve and increase train services and reduce journey times between its major cities and towns, by electrifying lines and removing a major rail bottleneck in Manchester. It was predicted to stimulate economic growth in the region.^[1] The project had several elements but the prime objective was to eradicate the bottleneck in Manchester and allow trains to travel through the city at speed without stopping. The project was announced as the Manchester Hub in 2009.^[2][3] The project's steering partnership involved Network Rail, Deutsche Bahn, First TransPennine Express, Northern Rail, East Midlands Trains, CrossCountry, Freightliner, the Department for Transport, Transport for Greater Manchester and Merseytravel.^[4][2]

Services from Liverpool to Leeds and beyond were diverted from the Liverpool to Manchester line southern route, via Warrington Central and Manchester Piccadilly, to the more direct electrified Liverpool to Manchester northern route, via Newton-le-Willows and Manchester Victoria; this provides a fast route to and through Manchester. The original proposals included an additional two through platforms at Manchester Piccadilly station which would have allowed a further four trains per hour through the Castlefield corridor, however this was officially cancelled in May 2023.^[5]

The refurbishment of Manchester Victoria station was completed in October 2015, this allowed it to become an east-west rail interchange and through station between Liverpool and Leeds. Trains from North-East England to Manchester Airport were planned to use the £85 million Ordsall Chord, between Manchester Victoria and Manchester Oxford Road, to access Piccadilly and would have continue to the airport without reversing at Piccadilly.

The Manchester Hub Study, outlining the project, was released by Network Rail in February 2010. Costs were estimated at £530 million, subsequently reassessed to £560 million.^[2][6] Chancellor George Osborne approved expenditure of £85 million for the Ordsall Chord in his budget on 23 March 2011^[7] and other aspects of the scheme were reviewed to ensure best value. A further £130 million was committed in Osborne's budget of March 2012^[8] and approval for the full scheme was confirmed by the government on 16 July 2012. The first train ran on the chord on 10 December 2017 and the project was completed by 2018.^[9][10]

Support for the scheme was vociferous from civic and business leaders, due to the high benefit-to-cost ratio, and from politicians, such as George Osborne; but was also criticised for being incremental and only improving the rail network in Northern England to "where it should have been a decade ago".^[11] The scheme had a benefit-to-cost ratio (BCR) of £4 for every £1 invested - double that of Crossrail in London and the proposed High Speed 2 project which in October 2013 had BCRs of £2.10 and £2.30 respectively.^[12][13]

The Northern Hub project was completed in 2020 after the modernisation of Manchester Victoria station, completion of the Ordsall Chord, platform expansion at Manchester Airport and introduction of 138 new purpose-built trains for Northern and TransPennine Express. It has been superseded by the Great North Rail Project.^[14] Further projects included High Speed 3 which proposed an upgraded trans-Pennine railway line. A feasibility study of the west to east rail line and its branches into HS2 will be published in March 2016.^[15]