LIVERPOOL will today join forces with 10 other cities to demand that dreams of a network of high-speed rail lines do not fall victim to the recession.
The council will join local leaders from Glasgow to Cardiff to launch a campaign to urge the Government to accelerate plans for 225mph trains to link all of Britain's big cities.
The call – to be made at a “high-speed rail summit” in London – comes as controversy rages over whether a line should link Liverpool to Leeds and Newcastle, or simply to London and Scotland.
Last month, Network Rail provoked uproar by recommending a single £34bn line up the West Coast, while rejecting a route up the east of England.
That ignored a plea by the Northern Way group, which has argued that a trans-Pennine link would help deliver a £10bn economic boost, of which £3.5bn would be in the North.
Meanwhile, the disastrous state of Britain's finances has thrown doubt on whether any lines can be afforded in the next decade – despite the backing of all three political parties.
Now Cllr Peter Millea, who sits on Merseytravel's board for Liverpool City Council, will make a joint plea for the Government to embrace a "high-speed rail network".
The other eight cities launching the campaign are Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield. They will also stress the need for fast connections to the rest of Europe, which would mean passengers carrying on along the existing high-speed line to the Channel Tunnel, without having to change trains in London.
