View of the outside building of Liverpool central station and Manchester Piccadilly station

Liverpool-Manchester Railway Board


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Liverpool-Manchester Railway Board

The Liverpool-Manchester Railway Board (LMRB) has been established to maximise the economic and social benefits of a new railway between the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester. 

The LMRB is chaired by Mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, with the leaders of Manchester City Council, Cllr Bev Craig, and Liverpool City Council, Cllr Liam Robinson, serving as vice-chairs. It also involves other local authorities along the route, as well as the Port of Liverpool, Manchester Airports Group, and other stakeholder organisations. 

A Partnership Board, which brings together business leaders and industry specialists, will work alongside the LMRB to help build the business case for the most ambitious line possible.  

The plans include transformational investment in city centre stations in Liverpool and a modern, underground station at Manchester Piccadilly. A new, high-speed rail line would run through new stations at Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Airport, connecting the Investment Zones in Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester via prime development sites.

In May 2025, the LMRB published a new report detailing how a new Liverpool-Manchester Railway could supercharge economic growth and set a new model for delivering major infrastructure in the UK. It is forecast the line would deliver a £15 billion economic boost and 22,000 jobs during construction alone.

Read the ‘Connecting the North West to drive national prosperity’ report (PDF, 9.68 MB)

  • Liverpool City Region Mayor – Steve Rotheram (Co-Chair)
  • Greater Manchester Mayor – Andy Burnham (Co-Chair)
  • Manchester City Council Leader - Cllr Bev Craig (Joint Vice Chair)
  • Liverpool City Council Leader - Cllr Liam Robinson (Joint Vice Chair)
  • Warrington Council Leader - Cllr Hans Mundry
  • Manchester Airport Managing Director - Chris Woodroofe
  • Port of Liverpool CEO - Claudio Veritiero
  • Trafford Council Leader – Cllr Tom Ross
  • Cheshire East Council Leader – Cllr Nick Mannion
  • Cheshire West and Chester Council Leader – Cllr Louise Gittins
  • Rail Minister (Lord Peter Hendy) will be invited to be a member of the Board

  • Department for Transport Director General
  • Major Rail Projects Group
  • Transport for the North CEO
  • Network Rail
  • HS2 Ltd
  • National Highways
  • Chair of the Partnership Board

 

 

Liverpool-Manchester Railway Partnership Board

The Liverpool-Manchester Railway Board (LMRB) has established an industry-leading Partnership Board to offer strategic advice and support to the development and delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR).

Earlier this year, the Mayors of Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester established the LMRB to maximise the economic and social benefits of a new railway.

The Partnership Board brings together business leaders and industry specialists. They will work with the LMRB to help build the business case for the most ambitious new railway line possible between the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester. 

Using the experience of the private sector and major research institutions, the Partnership Board will advance a placed-based, bottom-up approach that delivers the maximum connectivity, economic and social benefits from the Liverpool-Manchester NPR scheme. 

The Partnership Board will meet at least quarterly, in person, at a roving location. Participation will be on a voluntary basis for a minimum of 12 months.

  • Huw Merriman – Former Rail Minister (Chair)
  • Jane Healey Brown – Arup (Director of Planning, Policy and Economics & Head of Manchester Office)
  • Collette Carrol – Atkins Realis (Managing Director)
  • Alyson Malach – Equality Diversity UK (Director)
  • David Maddison – Rail Industry Association North (Regional Director)
  • Zoe Davidson – Deloitte (Partner, Real Assets Advisory – Development)
  • Suzanne Mathieson – Mott MacDonald (Delivery Director)
  • Stewart Miller – The National Robotarium (Chief Executive)
  • Trevor Brocklebank – Marketing Cheshire (Chair)
  • Paul Taylor – Taylors Estates (Managing Director)
  • Sarah Thompson – Metro Dynamics (Associate Director)
  • Tim Chetwood – Landsec (Project Director)
  • Guillaume Chanussot – Transdev UK (Chief Executive)
  • Nehal Mehta – SSE Energy Solutions (Regionalisation Director)
  • Ivor Phillips – Broadway Malyan (Director of Architecture)
  • Paul McNerney – Laing O’Rourke (Director of UK Building)
  • Stephen Cowperthwaite – Avison Young (Principal and Managing Director – Liverpool & Chair of Liverpool Place Partnership)
  • University place 1, members will attend Board meetings on a rotational basis
    • Professor Peter McDermott – University of Salford (Professor of Construction Management)
    • Professor Graham Winch – University of Manchester (Professor of Project Management – Centre for Civil and Construction Engineering)
  • University place 2, members will attend Board meetings on a rotational basis
    • Professor Tim Jones – University of Liverpool (Vice-Chancellor)
    • Professor Mark Power – Liverpool John Moores University (Vice-Chancellor & CEO)
  • Chamber of Commerce, represented by Wayne Jones at Board meetings
    • Paul Coleman – South and North Chesire Chamber of Commerce (Chief Executive)
    • Wayne Jones – Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (Board Member)