CHESHIRE East Council has welcomed the announcement that a future government will bring forward the construction of high speed rail to Crewe sooner than planned.

The news was announced by transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin, who also indicated that Crewe could become the first northern hub for HS2.

After Crewe, the 200mph service will then continue to Manchester to form a new super-fast link across the Pennines.

Caroline Simpson, Cheshire East’s executive director of economic development, said: “This Council has put in an enormous amount of work to secure HS2 for Crewe and the prospect of an early hybrid bill in the next Parliament, which could confirm Crewe as the northern hub, is something we look forward to with great anticipation.

“We cannot emphasise strongly enough the economic growth it will bring to south Cheshire and north Staffordshire and, as we have always said, we intend that those economic benefits will be enjoyed across the sub-region, stretching into North Wales and Merseyside as well as North Staffordshire.

“The hub station in Crewe would act as the gateway to the Northern Powerhouse and HS2 promises to bring a second railway revolution to the town and transform its economic prospects.”

Last October, Chairman of HS2 Ltd, Sir David Higgins, revealed that Crewe was the preferred location for a Superhub north of Birmingham.

The project was estimated to be completed by 2032, though Sir David said he hoped to deliver the northern section of the project five to six years sooner than the estimated completion date.

This claim was backed when Chancellor George Osborne said the government was analysing the possibility of ‘accelerating’ construction from north of Birmingham to Crewe in his autumn statement.

Caroline Simpson added: “All the signals appear to be showing green for Crewe.

“We remain extremely optimistic that the historic railway town will re-establish its great reputation as an engineering and transport capital for the whole of the north.”

Sixty-four thousand jobs are forecast to be created if the high-speed project arrives at Crewe, which is estimated to be worth around £3.5 billion a year to the north west economy.