Support the Western link

Bob Hawes makes an excellent point about the proposed western link from Manchester Airport station to the Mid-Cheshire Line ( Open Access, RAIL 914).

Not only would it provide a new route from Liverpool to

Manchester Airport avoiding the Castlefield Corridor, it would also provide a new route from Chester and North Wales to the airport, fully 21 miles shorter than today’s route via Warrington and the Castlefield Corridor.

It would provide a new, shorter route from the Mid-Cheshire Line to Manchester, freeing up capacity on the existing congested route via Stockport.

And it would convert the existing airport station to a through station, increasing its train handling capacity.

The proposed HS2 line and station at Manchester Airport do not conflict with the Western Link proposal in any way. With the urgent need to de-congest the railway around Manchester, the Western Link is an idea whose time has come.

Simon Barber, Northwich