Should Number 10 North Have Good Rail Connections To London?
The answer to this question must be Yes! But it must also have good rail connections to the rest of the UK.Heron House
The current Number 10 North is at Heron House, which is shown on this OpenRailwayMap.
Note.
- The green lines are Manchester’s Metrolink.
- Piccadilly Gardens with its tram stop is in the North-East corner of the map.
- The tram lines going South-East from Piccadilly Gardens go to Manchester Piccadilly station.
- The tram lines going North-East from Piccadilly Gardens go to Manchester Victoria station.
- In the middle of the map, there is St. Peter’s Square tram stop, which are within a five-minute walk to the circular Manchester Central Library and the triangular Manchester Town Hall.
- Heron House is on the opposite side of Albert Square to Manchester Town Hall.
Andy Burnham has obviously chosen a location he knows well from his nine years as the Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Long-term there are plans to move Number 10 North to the Manchester Digital Campus in Great Ancoats Street, Ancoats, Manchester, when construction is completed around 2032.
This Google Map shows the location of Great Ancoats Street with respect to Manchester City Centre.
Note.
- Great Ancoat’s Street appears to be part of Manchester’s Inner Ring Road.
- Google placed the red arrow, but I suspect Number 10 North could be somewhere near the arrow.
- Manchester Piccadilly station is not marked on the map, but is about a 0.8 mile South-West of the red arrow, at the end of the rail line going South-East from the map.
- Number 10 North should be about a 5 to 10 minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly station.
- Currently, there is no tram running in this direction.
- The two stations in the South-West corner of the map are Deansgate in the West and Manchester Oxford Road in the East.
- The fourth station in Manchester City Centre is Manchester Victoria in the North-West corner of the map, by the AO Arena and Manchester Cathedral.
- Located between Deansgate, Oxford Road and Victoria stations is a white triangle, which is Manchester Town Hall, with the current location of Number 10 North at Heron House to its West.
- There don’t appear to be any trams on Great Ancoat’s Street, but there are buses between Manchester Victoria and Great Ancoat’s Street, which take about 11-20 minutes.
- As an alternative between Manchester Victoria and Great Ancoat’s Street, you can take a tram to New Islington and walk.
This brief look seems to indicate, that to get to Great Ancoat’s Street, you either walk from Manchester Piccadilly or take trams or buses and a short walk from Manchester Victoria.
This OpenRailwayMap shows Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria and New Islington.
Note.
- Manchester Victoria station is indicated by a blue arrow.
- Manchester Piccadilly station is towards the bottom of the map.
- New Islington tram stop is North-West of Manchester Piccadilly on the green tram line to the Etihad Stadium and Ashton-Under-Lyme tram stops.
- The Etihad Stadium can be seen three tram stops on from New Islington at the Eastern edge of the map.
- Passengers going between Manchester Victoria and New Islington would change trams at Picadilly Gardens tram stop.
I believe that the Future Number 10 North will be within easy walking distance of the New Islington tram stop.
Current London And Manchester Services
Avanti West Cost currently run three hourly trains between Euston and Manchester Piccadilly.
- 1 train per hour (tph) stops at Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Stockport
- 1 tph stops at Nuneaton, Stoke-on-Trent, Stockport
- 1 tph stops atStafford, Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport
I don’t think this gives a wide enough coverage of stations.
Lumo’s Proposed London And Manchester Services
Lumo want to run six daily trains between between Euston and Rochdale.
These will stop at Warrington Bank Quay, Newton-le-Willows, Eccles and Manchester Victoria.
Note.
- This could be a fast service, as it is proposed to be non-stop between Euston and Warrington Bank Quay.
- It will probably be only five-cars, which would give no problems terminating at Euston and Rochdale stations.
- Eccles and Rochdale are in Greater Manchester.
- Currently, Warrington Bank Quay, Newton-le-Willows, Eccles and Manchester Victoria don’t have direct trains to London.
- I can see this service appealing to thrifty Yorkshire folk, as Rochdale has 3 tph to Hebden Bridge and Leeds, 2 tph to Halifax and Bradford Interchange, and 1 tph to Brighouse and Dewsbury.
- It could be a low-cost service.
I can see it being successful.
The Role Of Train Stations In Driving Economic Growth
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Business Live.
This is the sub-heading.
This role of railway stations is set out in a recent report by Development Economics.
These two paragraphs add more detail.
We usually think of railways and railway stations as places to catch trains. And so they are. They provide us in parts of Wales with an alternative to the motor car particularly for longer journeys; and within the UK where air travel options are few.
This role of railway stations is set out in a recent report by Development Economics: Growing Places – Railway Stations: Engines of Economic Growth. It illustrates the impact of Great Western main line stations including Carmarthen, a medium size station in terms of passenger numbers handling nearly half-a-million entries and exits annually.
It sounds to me, that next time I go to South Wales, I should go and look at Carmarthen.
The report from Development Exconomics is also mentioned in this article on Rail Industry Connect, which is entitled Railway Stations Emerge As Engines Of Growth, But SMEs Must Move Quickly To Secure Their Place.
This is the sub-heading.
Railway stations across the UK are being recast as far more than transport hubs, with new analysis positioning them at the centre of economic growth, regeneration and investment. A recent report by Great Western Railway, Growing Places: Railway Stations – Engines of Economic Growth, sets out the scale of this shift and, crucially, what it means for the rail supply chain.
The initial paragraph adds some more detail.
For SMEs, the message is clear. The opportunity is substantial, but it is evolving. Value is no longer created solely through infrastructure delivery; it is increasingly tied to the wider economic ecosystems that stations enable.
Both articles are a must read.
Andy Burnham should read both!
Will Andy Burnham Take The Highview Road To Lower Energy Bills?
Has Andy Burnham Ever Said He’d Like Energy Bills To Come Down?
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section of this post, and received this reply.
Yes, Andy Burnham has explicitly stated he wants to bring energy bills down, making it a central priority upon becoming UK Prime Minister in July 2026. He has pledged to give voters “breathing room” on the cost of living and is considering radical market overhauls to reduce household costs.
But has he looked at radical engineering solutions, that would also help to push energy bills down.
This morning, I wrote Molten Salt And Human Sweat: The Weird Batteries That Could Store Renewable Energy, which is based on a must-read article in today’s Guardian.
The Guardian article shows Andy Burnham with Highview Power’s engineers and managers at the ground breaking ceremony of Highview Power’s 50MW/300 MWh liquid-air grid battery at Carrington in Andy Burham’s feifdom of Greater Manchester, where he was mayor for nine years.
In Andy Burnham and Highview Power, I asked Google AI about their relationship and Andy Burnham came over as an enthusiastic supporter of Highview Power.
In UK Wind Risks ‘Exponentially Rising’ Curtailment Without Energy Storage, I discuss using Highview’s batteries to avoid shutting wind turbines down, when we have too much electricity.
I believe that if Andy Burnham, were to experdite up to 20 of Highview’s largest 300 MW/3.2 GWh batteries around the UK, this would have the right effect on energy bills.
I would hope that Andy Burnham is watching the progress of the Carrington battery closely.
Molten Salt And Human Sweat: The Weird Batteries That Could Store Renewable Energy
The title of this post is the same as that of this article in The Guardian.
This is the sub-heading.
From Nevada to Manchester, developers are trialling innovative solutions to clean energy’s biggest challenge
These first three paragraphs give a taste of what is to come.
In the deserts of the United Arab Emirates a sprawling clean energy project, stretching across an area roughly the size of 12,600 football fields, will play host to a breakthrough allowing solar energy to power the equivalent of half a million homes through the night.
The Gulf state has been steadily combining 5.2GW of solar power capacity with 19GWh of battery storage to create the largest battery scheme in the world.
Meanwhile, about 7,500 miles away, at the US’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory facility in Colorado, researchers and engineers are making some of the smallest batteries the world has ever seen. A fraction of the size of the grid-scale lithium-ion batteries used to store renewable energy, they have been designed to power electronic tags that will track the 3in-long (about 7.5cm) young from salmon and eel species.
And seeing, that they used to be the Manchester Guardian and that Andy Burnham is surely the man-of-the-day for other reasons, Highview Power’s 50 MW/300 MWh at Carrington in Manchester gets a big mention under a section heading of Liquid Air, with Burnham in hi-vis jacket and hard hat.
This picture, which is courtesy of The Guardian, shows the groundbreaking ceremony of the Carrington battery.
Andy Burnham is third from the right.
The Guardian article is very much a must read, that features projects from the United Arab Emirates, Colorado, Finland, Manchester, Nevada and Japan.
Andy Burnham Promised 10,000 Council Houses. Guess The Tally So Far
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Greater Manchester is a success story but that has little to do with the mayor, still less the economic model he is touting for the country
These are the first two paragraphs.
I don’t like being mean to Andy Burnham. With his soft, doe-eyed features, it feels rather like punching a lamb. But it’s quite an achievement when “We’ve got to get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets” isn’t actually the stupidest thing a politician has said in any given week.
The other day Burnham kicked off his not-quite-a-leadership bid by urging Labour to embrace “Manchesterism”. This he defined as “business-friendly socialism”, in which the state “rolled back the 1980s” by seizing control of “the basics of life”: housing, energy, water, rail. This included borrowing £40 billion for new council housing.
This paragraph from Robert Colville gives the current progress on housing in Manchester.
Burnham did announce, in May 2024, that he was going to build 10,000 council houses by 2028. But over the following year the region started construction on just ten. No, that’s not a typo.
That is not a good start!
Will The Real Andy Burnham Please Stand Up!
As I wrirw posts in the next couple of weeks, if I find Andy Burnham has said something about the subject, that is worth adding, I will add it.
TerraLithium, BHE Renewables Announce Key Milestones For Geothermal Lithium Project In California
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on ThinkGeoEnergy.
This is the sub-heading.
TerraLithium and BHE Renewables have announced key milestones towards advancing technology for lithium extraction from geothermal brines in Imperial Valley, California.
This is the important paragraph in the article.
The business model of coupling lithium and critical minerals extraction with geothermal energy production is gaining increasing attention, both in the United States and in countries like Germany, France, and the UK. As demonstrated in the United Downs geothermal power project in Cornwall, lithium extraction provides additional revenue generation that can significantly improve the economics of deep geothermal projects.
So here we have little Cornwall showing Big California how to get power and lithium out of hot rocks.
In Cornish Plant Produces Geothermal Power, I described the progress at the Cornish plant in March.
Has Andy Burnham Ever Said Anything On Geothermal Energy?
Given that there is an election or coronation under way, I just had to ask Google AI, the question in the title of this section.
This is the answer I received.
Yes, Andy Burnham has occasionally engaged with topics involving geothermal energy, particularly in the context of tapping natural underground heat and mine water for green energy
His notable references to the technology include:
Supporting Manchester’s Geothermal Potential: He has voiced support for localized renewable heat projects, such as exploratory borehole plans in Manchester city centre intended to tap into thermal springs for community heating.
I think we can put that down as a favourable view.
This excellent article on the BBC is entitled Plan To Heat Manchester Homes With A Geothermal Spring, is worth a full read.
Andy Burnham and Highview Power
Highview Power are building their first commercial-scale liquid-air battery at Carrington in Greater Manchester.
I typed the title of this post into Google AI, to see if anything enlightening turned up.
This is what I found.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has strongly championed the development of Highview Power’s pioneering £300m liquid air energy storage (LAES) facility in Carrington, Manchester. Burnham officially broke ground on the project, praising it as a massive boost for local green jobs and grid resilience.
The Carrington Project at a Glance
Location: Trafford Low Carbon Energy Park, Carrington, Greater Manchester
Capacity: 300MWh of storage and 50MW of output. The plant can supply clean power to roughly 480,000 homes.
Jobs: Created over 700 jobs in construction and the supply chain.
Technology: Stores excess energy from renewable sources (like wind and solar) as liquid air. It can hold energy for several weeks to release back into the grid when demand is high.
Andy Burnham’s Stance
Burnham views the Highview Power plant as a cornerstone of his plan to reindustrialize Greater Manchester and establish it as a global center of excellence for clean energy.
Hosting such advanced demonstration technology aligns perfectly with his Good Growth Fund and regional net-zero strategies.
Broader Significance
Backed by Centrica and the National Wealth Fund, the Carrington site is the first in a planned global rollout of large-scale, long-duration energy storage plants. Mayor Burnham officially broke ground on the facility, which remains on track to be fully operational in 2026.
Has Andy Burnham Made Any Comments About The Picc-Vic Tunnel?
This is the introductory paragraph for the Wikipedia entry for the Picc-Vic Tunnel.
Picc-Vic was a proposed, and later cancelled, underground railway designed in the early 1970s with the purpose of connecting two major mainline railway termini in Manchester city centre, England. The name Picc-Vic was a contraction of the two key station names, Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria. The proposal envisaged the construction of an underground rail tunnel across Manchester city centre. The scheme was abandoned in 1977 during its proposal stages. The view was that the scheme still retained two large and expensive-to-maintain terminal stations in Manchester while other similarly sized cities had reduced their terminals to one.
Note.
- British Rail had a plan to improve the rail system in the North of England, by building rail tunnels under Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.
- Liverpool’s and Newcastle’s tunnels were built and are used by Merseyrail and the Newcastle Metro.
- Harold Wilson cancelled the Picc-Vic Tunnel, the TSR2, the Channel Tunnel and Maplin Airport, as he’d run out of taxpayer’s money.
I asked Google-AI, the question in the title of this post, and received this answer.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has made extensive comments about the Picc-Vic tunnel, effectively resurrecting the concept of an underground railway for the city.
Key details of his statements include:
The Vision: Burnham has tasked Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) with designing a conceptual underground system—which has been likened to a “Crossrail for Manchester”. He envisions two lines (North-South and East-West) intersecting at a new subterranean station at Manchester Piccadilly.
Rebranding the Concept: Acknowledging the original 1970s Picc-Vic plan that was ultimately shelved, Burnham views the new tunnel as an absolute necessity to cope with the city’s growth, stating “it is essential to the future economic prosperity of the city-region”.
Piccadilly Station: He is adamant that Manchester Piccadilly Station should be the “Kings Cross of the North”. He has pushed heavily against “cut-price” infrastructure, demanding an entirely underground railway option rather than sprawling over-ground train lines.
Next Steps: He has instructed officials to prepare detailed plans and cost estimates for the multi-billion pound project, with initial discussions on funding mechanisms already underway with the government.
You can read more about his 10-year strategy announcement on the BBC News report or follow local discourse on the Reddit Manchester threads.
Conclusion
If Andy Burnham is going to do all this for his beloved Manchester, can the rest of the country, afford him to be Prime Minister?
Reform ‘Would Scrap’ High-Speed Northern Rail Line
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A Reform UK government would scrap plans to build the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) link, its deputy leader has said.
These two paragraphs add extra details.
In a report to the right-leaning Policy Exchange think tank, Richard Tice said companies considering bidding for contracts to build east-to-west high-speed rail links should “not bother”.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham rejected Tice’s comments and suggested Reform UK wanted a “second-class railway” for the north of England.
As I showed in I’ve Just Glimpsed The Future Of Train Travel Across The North Of England And I Like It, much of Northern Powerhouse Rail is complete or under construction to the East of Manchester and the only section of Northern Powerhouse Rail to be announced, designed and constructed is between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester via Manchester Airport. I discussed this section in Completing Northern Powerhouse Rail.
I also suspect that Reform UK, is the only party, that is against the building of Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Conclusion
How do you scrap a railway, that is half complete and only needs about twenty miles of new track for completion?
