Could Liverpool Develop A Massive Zero-Carbon Data Centre?
There is an article in The Sunday Times today, which is entitled Google Signs Nuclear Deal To Power AI Data Centres.
These are the first three paragraphs of the article.
Google has struck a deal with a nuclear power start-up to provide low-carbon energy for its data centres and AI operations, marking a world-first in the tech industry.
The California-based company said the agreement to buy energy from multiple small modular reactors developed by Kairos Power could help spur a nuclear revival in America.
The first reactor is scheduled to come online in America by 2030, followed by additional deployments through 2035.
I am not against nuclear-powered data centres, but could Liverpool build a massive zero-carbon data centre?
This Google Map shows Liverpool Bay, which is a vast expanse of water that stretches along the North Wales coast to Anglesey and all the way to the Isle of Man.
Note.
- The Isle of Man in the North-West corner.
- Liverpool, Birkenhead and the River Mersey in the South-East corner.
- Anglesey in the South-West corner.
- Blackpool with Morecambe Bay to its North in the North-East corner.
Liverpool Bay could be one of Europe’s zero-carbon energy powerhouses.
Wind Farms In Liverpool Bay
At the present time, these wind farms are producing electricity or planned in Liverpool Bay.
- Barrow – 90 MW – Commissioned in 2006
- Burbo Bank – 90 MW – Commissioned in 2007
- Burbo Bank Extension – 258 MW – Commissioned in 2017
- Gwynt y Môr – 576 MW – Commissioned in 2015
- North Hoyle – 60 MW – Commissioned in 2003
- Ormonde – 150 MW – Commissioned in 2012
- Rhyl Flats – 90 MW – Commissioned in 2009
- Walney – 367 MW – Commissioned in 2010
- Walney Extension – 659 MW – Commissioned in 2018
- West if Duddon Sands – 389 MW – Commissioned in 2014
- Awel y Môr – 500 MW – Planned
- Morecambe – 480 MW – Planned
- Mona – 1500 MW – Planned
- Morgan – 1500 MW – Planned
Note.
- 2509 MW has been commissioned.
- 3980 MW is being planned.
- That is a total of 6489 MW
I suspect more space in Liverpool Bay could be developed with wind farms.
Mersey Tidal Power
The Mersey Tidal Power project has a web site.
If it is built, it will probably be built by the South Korean company; K-Water and use some of the design principles of the Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station.
It will likely have an output of around 1 GW and take ten years to build.
In the 1970s, I did some project management consultancy for Frederick Snow and Partners, and they showed me their plans for a Severn Barrage.
Their futuristic vision for the Severn Estuary was never built, as the Prime Minister of the time; Harold Wilson, felt coal was the future. See Last Of The Many!
I suspect that the Mersey Tidal Power project will be another variation on a proven theme.
Morecambe Bay Bridge And Tidal Barrage Proposal
In the Wikipedia entry for Morecambe Bay, there is a proposal for a bridge and tidal barrage across the bay, where this is said.
In 2004, a proposal was made to build a bridge across the bay flanked by wind turbines and using tidal power. Proposals from Northern Tidal Power Gateways in 2019 outlined a tidal barrage with a road running along on top.
If the Mersey Tidal Power project is a success, then why wouldn’t one across Morecambe Bay, be one too?
500 MW of zero-carbon tidal power would do nicely!
Nuclear Sites At Calder Hall, Heysham And Wylfa
These three nuclear stations have supplied electricity to the North-West of England.
- Calder Hall was the original Magnox site, which the Wikipedia entry says had a nameplate capacity of 240 MW and was decommissioned in 2003, after running for 47 years.
- Heysham is a powerful site which the Wikipedia entry says has a nameplate capacity of 2452 MW and will be decommissioned in 2028.
- Wylfa is an older, smaller Magnox site which the Wikipedia entry says had a nameplate capacity of 1190MW and was decommissioned in 2015.
As the sites are cleared, I am sure that we’ll see more nuclear power stations built on the sites.
How Much Electricity Does A Data Centre Use?
I found this paragraph in an NESO document.
Regardless of this, if we were to use existing market data and modelling projections, this could point to annual data centre electricity consumptions of between 3.6 TWh in 2020 to as much as 35 TWh by 2050.
Dividing by the hours in a year, indicates that an individual data centre could use between 0.4 and 4 GW of electricity.
Using my rough figures here from wind, tidal and nuclear, I suspect that the power on the Mersey will generate enough power for at least one data centre.
Liverpool Is On The Right Side Of The Country For Cables To North America
Cables will go straight out of Liverpool Bay, pass to the North of Ireland and across the Atlantic to somewhere like Puget Sound.
Liverpool has a superb location for a Transatlantic data centre, that connects to networks on both sides of the pond.
Could Underwater Data Centres Be Developed In Liverpool Bay?
This page on the Microsoft web site is entitled Microsoft Finds Underwater Datacenters Are Reliable, Practical And Use Energy Sustainably
These three paragraphs detail the research.
Earlier this summer, marine specialists reeled up a shipping-container-size datacenter coated in algae, barnacles and sea anemones from the seafloor off Scotland’s Orkney Islands.
The retrieval launched the final phase of a years-long effort that proved the concept of underwater datacenters is feasible, as well as logistically, environmentally and economically practical.
Microsoft’s Project Natick team deployed the Northern Isles datacenter 117 feet deep to the seafloor in spring 2018. For the next two years, team members tested and monitored the performance and reliability of the datacenter’s servers.
I would assume that Microsoft have continued the research, as with something like this you can’t be too careful.
But it would appear, that data centres and their servers could be submerged under the waters of Liverpool Bay.
London And Liverpool Will Be Under Two Hours By Train Within A Year
New Class 807 trains, which will be delivered within a year, will improve the train service between the two cities.
- Train times will be brought to around or even below two hours.
- , The extra trains will allow a second hourly service to be added.
- The extra service will additionally stop at Liverpool South Parkway station, for the airport.
- High Speed Two is claiming one hour and fifty minutes, between London and Liverpool.
Liverpool already has one of the best rail terminals in the North of England, as these pictures show.
With these service improvements, it will have a service to London and the South, that will be second to no other Northern station.
Liverpool Has A Refurbished Partly-Underground Suburban Railway With New Trains
Liverpool’s Metro is one of the best in Europe for a medium-sized city.
The Metro is also expanding with new routes and stations.
These pictures show the new Headbolt Lane station, which is swerved by the UK’s first battery-electric trains.
Liverpool Has Easy Access To Two International Airports
There are two international airports close by; Liverpool John Lennon and Manchester International.
- For Liverpool Airport, it’s a bus from Liverpool South Parkway station or an express bus from Liverpool city centre.
- For Manchester Airport, it’s a train from Lime Street station.
I am fairly sure, that a hydrofoil could connect Liverpool’s Waterfront and the Tidal Barrier to the airport.
North-West England Has A Rich University Tradition
Liverpool, Manchester and the surrounding area has several world-class universities and research establishments.
Some like The Pandemic Institute would be able to find uses for all the computing power and artificial intelligence on offer at a powerful data centre.
Liverpool Is A World City
Liverpool is a World City, where there is plenty of sport, entertainment and things to do.
Conclusion
Liverpool is installing the power infrastructure for a very large data centre, that will be able to handle the world’s largest and most difficult problems.
ECoR Launches Special Drive Against Carrying Diwali Crackers On Trains
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Pragativadi.
These two paragraphs tell the story.
With the Diwali festival approaching, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has intensified its efforts to ensure the safety of passengers by launching a special drive against the illegal transportation of firecrackers and other inflammable items on trains.
ECoR has reiterated that carrying dangerous goods like crackers, gas cylinders, acid, petrol, kerosene and similar materials in passenger-carrying trains is a punishable offence under the Railways Act, 1989, which can result in imprisonment of up to three years.
The punishment is probably a bit heavier than you get for this offence in Liverpool Lime Street.
I suspect a Diwali cracker makes a bigger bang, than a typical balloon.
Eurovision Boost For Record Rail Profits
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A train operator has posted record profits thanks in part to the Eurovision Song Contest and other major events.
These four paragraphs sum up the story.
Merseyrail, which operates services across Merseyside and into Cheshire and Lancashire, is one of the most intensively used rail networks in the UK.
According to its directors’ strategic report for the year ending in January 2024, some 78,000 journeys were taken on Merseyrail services on average every day.
There were 28 million passenger journeys, which the company said was a post-Covid peak. It added a profit of just under £44m was the largest in its history.
The report said Merseyrail had benefitted from the Eurovision Song Contest being held in Liverpool, as well as the Open golf tournament at Hoylake on the Wirral and a successful Grand National festival at Aintree.
Note.
- Merseyrail’s trains seem to have taken the spectators to the big events all over the city.
- The trains are also virtually brand new and very bicycle and buggy-friendly, so do they introduce new passengers to Merseyrail?
- Spectators from places around the city like Birkenhead, Chester, Crewe, Manchester, Preston, Southport, Warrington and Wigan all have good rail connections to Liverpool Lime Street, which has its own Merseyrail below-ground station.
For big events like Eurovision, the Grand National or The Open, if you have tickets for the event, a train, on the day from Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, London, Nottingham or Sheffield is very feasible.
- In addition, now that Lime Street station and the area around it has been refurbished, it is a cultural area to visit in its own right.
- I believe that Liverpool will grow as a destination to visit.
- A doubling of the Avanti train service to London will add more capacity.
- The TransPennine Express service across the country and to Scotland will be improved.
- Blackpool will be eighty minutes away.
- The Eden Project North at Morecambe will be only an hour away.
- In a few years time, the Mersey Tidal Barrage will be attracting visitors.
- Liverpool has public transport connections to both Liverpool and Manchester airports.
Liverpool will be a place to stay for the weekend and for those, who don’t have a car or prefer not to drive, they will be able to use the extensive rail network to get to other places like.
- Blackpool and Manchester with their trams.
- Liverpool’s local attractions on Merseyrail.
Liverpool will become a very successful short-stay resort city.
3rd October 2024 – A Day In Liverpool
A Three-Leg Journey North
This is the second time, I’ve bought one of there journeys North and they are a pain, unless you want to guarantee seats.
I suppose, I should buy my tickets earlier, but if I can buy my rickets on the day on other train companies, I would prefer to do it on Avanti West Coast.
Avanti West Coast’s problem is that they haven’t got their new Class 807 trains into service yet, which will double the services to Liverpool.
T arrived at Warrington Bank Quay on time and the transfer to Newton-le-Willows went smoothly, but then, I waited thirty minutes for my train to Liverpool Lime Street.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the route I took.
Note.
- Liverpool Lime Street station is at the Western side of the map.
- Newton-le-Willows station is marked by the blue arrow in the top right corner of the map.
- Warrington Bank Quay station is in the bottom right corner of the map.
It does seem a round about route, But I got there. Although, I was late.
Hopefully, in a couple of years, you’ll be able to take a local train between Liverpool Lime Street and Newton-le-Willows stations to link up with FirstGroup’s low-cost Lumo Open Access service between Euston and Rochdale.
A Single Journey Home
I was booked home on the 18:43 train from Lime Street, but as you can often do, I asked and was allowed to board the 17:43.
A Crowded And Crazy Euston
I arrived back at Euston at 20:00, but it was crowded, as the station is very much a building site for High Speed Two.
I felt I would treat myself to a taxi, but I couldn’t find any.
So I took a 205 bus along Euston Road to King’s Cross, where I jumped on the the Circle Line for Moorgate.
From there I took my usual 141 bus home.
A friendly station guy at Moorgate, indicated, there might not be any taxis at Euston.
I’d also found earlier, that there were no escalators to the Underground.
Perhaps more than ever, care should be taken at Euston, when getting to and from the station.
It Looks To Me That High Speed Two Has Got Their Planning Wrong At Euston
The big problem at Euston is getting to and from the National Rail station from East or West,
Compare Euston in this respect with Liverpool Street, King’s Cross, St. Pancras or Paddington.
In The New Step-Free Entrance At Euston Square Station, I show the plans for step-free access to the sub-surface lines.
This new entrance to Euston station, should be built first.
All the dithering about High Speed Two seems to have delayed it!
A Manifesto For Liverpool City Region
The title of this post is the same as that of this document from the Heseltine Institute of Public Policy, Practice and Place.
The Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place. describes itself like this on its home page on the University of Liverpool web site.
An interdisciplinary research institute focusing on the development of sustainable and inclusive cities and city regions.
The main sections of the document are as follows.
- How Can We Reduce Health Inequalities?
- How Do We Meet Our Net Zero Goals?
- How Can We Address The Cost Of Living Crisis?
- How Can We Deliver Sustainable Mobility?
- How Can We Address The Challenges And Meet The Opportunities Of Artificial Intelligence?
- How Do We Build Enough New Homes In The Right Places?
- How Should We Care For The Most Vulnerable In Society?
- How Can We Maintain A Vibrant And Inclusive Cultural Life?
- How Do We Restore Trust In Democracy?
These are nine very important questions and the document is worth a good read.
Plans Progress To Build World’s Largest Tidal Scheme On The Banks Of The River Mersey
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from the Liverpool City Region.
These four bullet points, act as sub-headings.
- Mersey Tidal Power has the potential to become the world’s largest tidal scheme
- Formal planning process for UK’s “first of a kind” Mersey Tidal Power set to begin
- Potential to manage environmental issues associated with climate change
- Scheme would need government backing to complete development stage
These three paragraphs introduce the project.
Advanced proposals to build the world’s largest tidal scheme on the banks of the River Mersey have been unveiled by the Liverpool City Region’s Mayor Steve Rotheram.
Mayor Rotheram has revealed that the city region will pursue a barrage between the Wirral and Liverpool as the preferred option for the city region’s flagship Mersey Tidal Power project.
The barrage scheme – the “first of a kind” in the UK – could generate clean, predictable energy for 120 years and create thousands of jobs in its construction and operation.
Note.
- This page on the Liverpool City Region, has this explanatory video.
- This brochure can also be downloaded.
At a first glance all the documentation is very professional.
These are my thoughts.
How Much Power Will The Mersey Tidal Project Generate?
This graphic from the brochure shows electricity generation in Liverpool Bay.
Note.
- The dark blue circles are the thirteen existing wind farms, that have a total capacity of 3 GW.
- The yellow circles are four new wind farms, that will be built by 2030 and will have a total capacity of 4 GW.
- The Mersey Tidal Project will have 28 x 25 MW turbines and generate 700 MW.
I also suspect that the power generation will be supplemented by a large battery, that will smooth out the electricity, when the wind isn’t blowing and the tides are at the wrong cycle.
Access For Ships To The Tranmere Oil Terminal And The Manchester Ship Canal
This article on the Liverpool Business News is entitled £6bn ‘Barrage Across The Mersey’ Takes Step Forward.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Steve Rotheram says his £6bn Mersey Tidal Power project will see a barrage across the river, with locks to allow ships through, but original 2030 switch-on now looks unlikely.
The article has a picture which could show locks on the Wirral side of the Mersey.
This Google Map shows the location of the Tranmere Oil Terminal and the Manchester Ship Canal.
Note.
- Birkenhead is in the North-West corner of the map.
- The line of white squares running parallel to the River Mersey, indicate the stations of the Wirral Line to Chester and Ellesmere Port.
- The Tranmere Oil Terminal is indicated by the red arrow at the top of the map.
This second Google Map expands the area on the West bank of the Mersey, at the bottom of the map.
These are Eastham Locks, which allow ships to enter and leave the Manchester Ship Canal.
This third Google Map shows the area around the Tranmere Oil Terminal.
As before the Tranmere Oil Terminal is indicated by the red arrow, with Cammell Laird to the North.
The Liverpool Business News article says this about oil tankers, that use the Mersey.
In terms of oil tankers alone, there are more than 700 vessels coming in and out of the Mersey every year. Supertankers berth at the Tranmere Oil Terminal next to the Cammell Laird shipyard and around 500 smaller vessels berth at Stanlow at Ellesmere Port.
LBN understands that some form of lock system will be incorporated into the barrage to allow ships in and out. That might prove tricky for supertankers which suggests the barrage would be down river from the Tranmere terminal.
This Google Map shows the Manchester Ship Canal as it goes East from Eastham Locks.
Note.
- The Manchester Ship Canal clings to the South Bank of the Mersey.
- The red arrow indicates Stanlow Refinery,
- There is a lot of industry on the South Bank of the Manchester Ship Canal.
It would appear that access to the Manchester Ship Canal gives access to several important places other than Manchester.
Access To Garston Docks
This Google Map shows the Liverpool Bank of the Mersey.
Note.
- The blue marker in the North-West corner of the map indicates the Royal Albert Dock.
- Garston Docks are in the South-East corner of the map
- There are no docks between Liverpool and Garston and much of the route can be walked along the Mersey.
- On the other bank of the Mersey, note the green ship at the Tranmere Oil Terminal, that can be seen in other maps.
This second Google Map shows Garston Docks.
Note.
- There are three docks.
- The Garston Channel and the Old Garston River provide a route for ships to enter or leave the docks.
The Wikipedia entry for the Port of Garston, indicates that the port is rather run-down and a shadow of its former self.
It would appear that ships would have to pass through the locks in the barrier, which would likely be on the Wirral bank, to gain access to the Manchester Ship Canal and then cross the Mersey for Garston.
However, the barrier is built, it must have a route to both the Tranmere Oil Terminal and the Manchester Ship Canal at Eastham Locks.
The barrier could be built either North or South of the Tranmere Oil Terminal.
- If built North of the oil terminal, the locks in the barrier will have to accommodate the largest supertanker that calls at the terminal.
- If built South of the oil terminal, the locks in the barrier would only have to accommodate the largest ship that needed to use the Manchester Ship Canal or visit Garston.
One option would probably be more affordable.
Barrage Cross The Mersey
The very informative Liverpool Business News article, explains why a barrage was chosen, in this paragraph.
After pondering whether to build a barrage across the river from Liverpool to Wirral, or a floating lagoon, the Combined Authority has chosen the former as it would be cheaper and also creates a bridge that could have a pedestrian and cycle link.
The choice of a barrage sounds sensible on grounds of cost and accessibility.
A World First For Liverpool
This article on The Engineer is entitled ABB Grid Balancing Facility Comes Online.
This is the sub-heading.
A significant new project to provide vital inertia across the UK’s electricity grid has gone live at the Lister Drive Greener Grid Park in Liverpool.
This Google Map, shows the Lister Drive Greener Grid Park.
Note.
- The red arrow indicates the location of the pair of synchronous condensers.
- The metal forest to the West of the Statkraft site, looks like a large substation.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Featuring two ABB synchronous condensers, the facility is designed to replicate the inertia currently provided by spinning turbines at coal and gas-fired plants. This inertia is essential for maintaining the correct frequency and voltage across electricity grids, so an alternative source must be installed as thermal generation is replaced by wind and solar, which provide no inertia.
Developed for Norwegian renewable energy firm Statkraft, Lister Drive is the first project anywhere in the world to feature a high-inertia configuration that couples a synchronous condenser with a 40-tonne flywheel. According to ABB, this approach increases the instantaneously available inertia by 3.5 times, ensuring the network frequency and voltage are held stable within the tight limits essential to maintain grid reliability.
In my Electrical Engineering degree course at Liverpool University, I opted out of power engineering, as I preferred Electronics and Control Engineering. So I am indebted to this Wikipedia entry for what a synchronous condenser is and does.
Statkraft seem to be developing several of their Greener Grid Parks, in various places in the UK.
Is Liverpool, England’s Biarritz?
Earlier in the week, I was feeling terrible, with pains in both lower legs.
This has been typical for some months and on Sunday, it was so bad in my right foot, that I tried a new cream called Udrate, that my GP prescribed for me last year.
It seemed to do the trick and I now rub it on twice a day.
On Thursday, I went to Liverpool and in the pouring rain at Euston, as I walked to the train, my legs were feeling terrible.
Throughout the day they improved and at the end of the day, I walked across the City Centre from Liverpool Central to the Albert Dock with no problem at all.
My legs have gradually got worse since I returned.
They are not bad now, but they are certainly worse than when I left Liverpool.
I wrote Would I Go Back To Biarritz Again?, after my one and only visit to the French resort, where I said this.
Of course I would!
Especially, if I could be guaranteed some weather like I had just experienced. The temperature had been about 14 °C with a humidity of over 50%
I do wonder about my father’s health. He suffered from a similar catarrh to that I’ve suffered for the last couple of years and he had lots of skin problems. He always put the latter down to the solvents he used in his printing business. I’m pretty certain he was a coeliac too, as I must have got the genes from somewhere.
I also remember him saying once that he had been to Biarritz. So did he go because he felt healthy there, as I just had?
I don’t know and there’s no-one I can ask who knew him, who’s still alive.
But as I seem to feel better in Biarritz, if I think I need a break in the winter, I think I’ll go.
Liverpool was warm and sunny on Thursday.
The picture shows the new Everton stadium being constructed at Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool, was taken as I returned from Headbolt Lane station.
This picture shows Biarritz in early December.
Both cities are bathed in sunshine.
Consider.
- Both cities have seafronts that face West.
- The prevailing winds are from the South-West.
- Both cities have land masses with mountains or hills to their South-West.
Do the hills induce turbulence to the air, which gives both cities, a healthy Autumnal climate that I find acceptable?
Could Manchester Airport Be Accessed From The West By A Tunnel Under The M56?
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railways of East London between Dalston Junction and Stratford International stations.
Note.
- Dalston Kingsland station is marked with an arrow in the West of the map.
- Stratford International station is marked by the blue lettering in the East of the map.
- The orange line between them is the North London Line.
- There are also two pink lines, which indicate High Speed One, which is dug several metres below the North London Line.
It can’t be much different to dig a high speed railway underneath a motorway. Has anybody done this?
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railways leading to Manchester Airport.
Note.
- Junctions 5 and 6 of the M56 motorway are on the Western edge of the Airport.
- The red tracks are the Styal Line.
- The mauve tracks are the Metrolink.
- It should be noted that railway lines pass under Heathrow Airport’s runways.
Point 4 makes me sure, that Manchester Airport can have a station connected to the West by a railway under the M56.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railways around Weaver Junction on the West Coast Main Line, where the trains branch off to Liverpool.
Note.
- The West Coast Main Line goes down the Eastern side of the map.
- Warrington Bank Quay is the next station to the North.
- The Liverpool Branch goes off to the West.
- The M56 tuns diagonally across the map from the North-East corner crossing both both branches of the West Coast Main Line.
This Google Map shows where the M56 crosses over the West Coast Main Line to Warrington Bank Quay.
Note.
- The M56 motorway is obvious.
- The Eastbound motorway goes to Manchester Airport and Manchester.
- The junction is numbered 11.
- The railway runs down the Western side of the map.
I believe that it would be possible to connect a railway running East under the motorway to the West Coast Main Line.
This Google Map shows where the M56 crosses over the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line.
Note.
- There is no motorway junction here.
- The North-East bound motorway goes to Manchester Airport and Manchester.
- The railway runs slightly diagonally across the bottom of the map.
- The Westbound railway goes to Runcorn and Liverpool.
- The Eastbound railway goes to Weaver Junction, Crewe and the South.
There would only need to be a connection between Liverpool and the railway under the motorway going to and from Manchester Airport.
I have some further thoughts and questions.
This Is Just My First Thought
I am happier about the connection to the Liverpool branch than the Northern connection.
But then I feel there are several routes at both junctions, some of which will take a wider route.
How Long Will The Tunnels Be?
Between Junctions 11 and 6 on the M56 is 16 miles.
At What Speed Would The Trains Run?
I suspect that once on the straight section between Junctions 11 and 6, speeds of up to 90 or 100 mph should be possible, but speeds would probably be lower at the junctions to the West Coast Main Line.
How Would It Connect To Manchester Piccadilly?
The tunnel would continue the other side of the Airport and it’s a further 9.4 miles to under Manchester Piccadilly.
In The Rival Plans For Piccadilly Station, That Architects Say Will ‘Save Millions’, I wrote about Weston Williamson’s plan for Manchester Piccadilly station.
This was their visualisation.
Note.
- In the visualisation, you are observing the station from the East.
- The existing railway lines into Piccadilly station are shown in red.
- Stockport and Manchester Airport are to the left, which is to the South.
- Note the dreaded Castlefield Corridor in red going off into the distance to Oxford Road and Deansgate stations.
- The new high speed lines are shown in blue.
- To the left they go to Manchester Airport and then on to London, Birmingham and the South, Warrington and Liverpool and Wigan, Preston, Blackpool, Barrow-in-Furness, the North and Scotland.
- To the right, they go to Huddersfield, Bradford, Leeds, Hull and the North East, and Sheffield, Doncaster and the East.
- Between it looks like a low-level High Speed station with at least four tracks and six platforms.
- The high speed lines could be oriented so they ran East-West, rather than North-South in this visualisation.
- The Manchester Metrolink is shown in yellow.
The potential for over-site development is immense. If the Station Square Tower was residential, the penthouses would be some of the most desirable places to live in the North.
Onward From Manchester Piccadilly
I would hope that a connection could be made to the Huddersfield Line to the East of Manchester Piccadilly station, so that trains could use the TransPennine Upgrade all the way to Leeds.
The Anonymous Widower 