TfN’s £70bn plan
Transport for the North’s Long Term Rail Strategy sets out a vision for improved frequency and journey times.
“RAPID, reliable and resilient rail links” between the North’s major towns and cities is a key message of Transport for the North’s Long-Term
Rail Strategy (LTRS) published for consultation on January 16.
While the overlying vision is for “a thriving North of England, where modern transport connections drive economic growth and support an excellent quality of life”, the strategy also pays detailed attention to areas of the existing rail network that need modernising and upgrading in the shorter term.
Aims include improving the frequency and journey time of passenger and freight services, while “more infrastructure will be required to accommodate the additional services needed to cater for growth”.
The LTRS forms part of Transport for North’s overall Strategic Transport
Plan, costed at £60bn-£70bn (between 2020 and 2050) which could increase Gross Value Added in the region by £100bn by 2050.
Other than HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), the main project on the horizon is the TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU), the yet-to-be-defined scheme resulting from the cancellation of electrification between Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds and York.
Being developed by Transport for North (TfN) and the Department for Transport, the upgrade is designed to deliver much faster journeys, at a higher frequency and with more capacity, than today’s railway. Electrification is being considered where required.
The upgrade is part of the Great North Rail Project, which also includes the Northern Hub and North West Electrification programmes. While a further delay to Manchester-BoltonPreston electrification was being announced in January, the LTRS notes that “the future of some elements of the Northern Hub are uncertain”, with the provision of additional capacity in Manchester and along the Hope Valley waiting for the Government to grant the Transport and Works Act Order, and then a funding decision from the DfT.
The Long-Term Rail Strategy stresses the importance of tourism to the railway. It states: “Where services do exist, timetables and capacity are not always aligned to seasonal demand… Facilities on trains serving tourist destinations are not always well-suited to the needs of groups and families, nor those with luggage.”
Similar comments are made
about the leisure market, especially in the evenings and on Sundays: “People must be able to access leisure opportunities, and the employment options they generate, and travel home afterwards.” Areas of social and economic deprivation should also be better served, it says.
While fleets of brand new trains are to be introduced in the North in the coming months, the LTRS notes that many old units will remain. “It should also be recognised that much of the fleet will be diesel-powered, which will look increasingly polluting relative to other modes, especially given ongoing changes in the automotive industry,” it says.
The challenge is funding, and the LRTS concludes: “To achieve the vision for the North’s railway, there must be a sustained and significant pipeline of investment - delivered through a continuous approach to infrastructure investment planning and successive franchise rounds.”
The LTRS indicates that the TRU should be complete in 2024, HS2 will reach Leeds and Manchester in 2033-34, and that NPR will be operational in 2036, but that many other issues still have to be addressed, not least the capacity on the East Coast Main Line between York and Newcastle.
Rail freight, smart ticketing, new stations and reopening lines are among several other topics addressed.
■ Transport for the North’s LongTerm Rail Strategy and the Strategic Transport Plan can be accessed on the TfN web site. Consultation closes on April 17.