CHESHIRE East Council wants to turn the current Crewe station into a tram hub – if the town is given a new station along the route of HS2.

The authority has drawn up a series of tram train links and bus routes they want built across the town to ease growing levels of congestion, connecting key employment sites such as Bentley and the Cumberland Arena.

Cheshire East Council wants people to ‘say yes’ to HS2 – as long as it means Crewe gets a new hub and a new train station.

The Government’s current preferred option for HS2 does not include a dedicated HS2 station at Crewe. Instead, trains would serve the town on existing rail lines by joining the West Coast Main Line at Basford.

But CEC leader, clr Michael Jones, alongside the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership and the Local Transport Body, is pushing for a new station.

He said: “Crewe is unique in that it offers a gateway to the north and south of the country and already has a rich heritage embedded within the railway industry.

“We need to regenerate the town centre and bring people in as well as improve the retail offer. To do this we need better transport links.

“The future is extremely bright for Crewe but effective travel links and a high-quality retail offer is vital and we believe this could be the answer.”

People are being urged to back the campaign and leave their supporting comments at: www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/hs2 Network Rail supports the bid for an HS2 hub station, meaning travel to the capital could be achieved in under an hour.