Calls for electrification of North Wales Main Line between Warrington, Crewe, Chester and Holyhead

Business and local authority leaders from North Wales, the Wirral and Cheshire West and Chester in the Growth Track 360 partnership have renewed their call for investment in the existing network

Reacting to the announcement on 9 March from UK Secretary of State for Transport of a two-year delay to completion of construction work on HS2 between Birmingham and Crewe, business and local authority leaders from North Wales, the Wirral and Cheshire West and Chester in the Growth Track 360 partnership have renewed their call for investment in the existing network to allow their cross-border region to take full advantage of the new railway.

To this end, Growth Track 360 is campaigning for:

1. Complete modernisation of Chester station as the gateway for tourism and commerce to Cheshire and North Wales; and
    
2. Electrification of the North Wales Main Line from Holyhead to Crewe and Warrington, allowing HS2 trains to run directly from London and Birmingham to Chester and beyond.

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.”

1. Growth Track 360 is a public-private partnership established in 2016 uniting North Wales, the Wirral and Cheshire West and Chester. Its goal is improving cross-border transport connectivity with specific emphasis on rail.

2. Growth Track 360 works closely with key stakeholders, their policies and objectives including the Welsh Government, Transport for the North, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Mersey Dee Alliance, Ambition North Wales, Transport for Wales, the West and Wales Transport Forum and the private sector.

3. In 2022, Growth Track 360 commissioned a conceptual artwork to assist the public in visualising the result of these proposed improvements.  Produced by Nataliia Marchuk, a Ukrainian Fine Arts undergraduate at the University of Chester, the artwork shows one of the HS2 trains now on order passing Conwy Castle on an electrified North Wales Main Line.