TRANSPORT for Leigh has reached out to the generation that it argues will be most affected by high speed rail and the proposed train station in Lowton.

MP Andy Burnham and TfL presented the case for the station and HS2 to students at the Leigh campus of Wigan and Leigh College on Monday morning.

They hope that stressing the importance of the proposal on the students’ future will inspire them to get involved in the project and consultation process.

Mr Burnham told the students: “This is going to have a much bigger impact on your life and your children’s lives than it will on your parents or grandparents.

“This will affect the future of Leigh for a long time to come. Whether you are for or against it is not the issue, it is important that you know about it.

“We will get all of the disruption of HS2, tearing up the countryside and taking some homes away but we will get hardly any of the benefit.

“There will be a depot to the north of Leigh and that will bring about 150 engineering jobs but, to be honest, all I see is a lot of disruption for not much benefit.”

TfL, with the backing of Mr Burnham, wants to ask the Government for a station be built south of Lowton, where HS2 will cross the East Lancashire Road, and create an interchange by redirecting the Liverpool-Manchester line.

Mr Burnham continued: “You could go from there to wherever you want and can you imagine what that would do for our area?"