The Department was clear on the need for Northern Powerhouse Rail to integrate with local transport, stating that “maximising the benefits of major rail investment requires coherent local planning that joins up rail, regeneration and local transport [and] that is absolutely what we have been trying to do.”58 MHCLG also emphasized how it was seeking to align local and national alignment on economic growth. It told us: “we want to empower the mayors to deliver their own local growth plans, but we have a system set up to agree shared priorities with national Government to shape both sides’ agendas.”59 In their written evidence to us, Transport for the North and the Liverpool–Manchester Railway Board also highlighted the importance of Northern Powerhouse Rail’s integration with local transport networks, needs and investment plans to maximise the programme’s growth benefits and inform trade-offs.60 Greengauge 21 identified the importance of improving city region rail services to get the most economic benefit from the investment – it viewed city region ‘commutability’ as the priority area for economic growth.61 53 Q20; DfT, Northern Powerhouse Rail: Millington to Manchester alignment for the route between Liverpool and Manchester - accounting officer assessment summary, January 2026 54 C&AG’s Report, Figure 8 55 Committee of Public Accounts, HS2: Update following the Northern leg cancellation, Tenth Report of Session 2024–25, HC 357, 28 February 2025 56 Q 20 57 Qq 20-21, 31 and 65 58 Q 69 59 Q 55 60 Transport for the North [NPR0003]; Liverpool–Manchester Railway Board and Partnership Board [NPR0005] 61 Greengauge 21 [NPR0004] 15