Liverpool to Manchester railway celebrates 180th anniversary

Council leaders and other dignitaries have come out to celebrate the 180th anniversary of the rail link between Manchester and Liverpool.

Councillor Keith Whitmore, Chair of Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority’s Policy and Resources Committee, said: “The opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was a seminal moment in this country’s history, linking two of our most important merchant cities.

“It was an accomplishment later repeated by the rest of the country and the rest of the world and marked the beginning of the Second Industrial Revolution.”

Jo Kaye, Route Director, Network Rail, said: “The original memorial to Huskisson is still there alongside the railway line but these days trains travel considerably faster than the sedate 20mph they did then.”

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