East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce chief executive Miranda Barker has called for the HS2 rail programme to be “enacted swiftly” to allow the county to become more competitive.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has launched a review of high-speed rail link HS2 – with a decision on the future of the major infrastructure project set to be made by the end of the year.
Miranda, who chairs the North West’s Regional Manufacturing Forum, called for HS2 to proceed in its entirety “in full co-ordination" with Northern Powerhouse Rail.
She said: “The North West is hamstrung economically by having now only limited capacity on north-south rail and road networks and only one mediocre east-west rail route.
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