Leaders join together in call for Powerhouse rail
NORTHERN POLITICIANS WANT TRAIN OVERHAUL BY EARLY 2030s
Political Editor DRAMATIC improvements to rail in the North of England should be up and running by the early 2030s, the Government will be told today.
Sunderland Central MP Julie Elliott, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson are among Northern MPs, civic leaders and employers urging the Government to back an ambitious project called Northern Powerhouse Rail.
It would include a new rail line linking Manchester and Leeds, with an upgraded line between Leeds and Newcastle and connections to the HS2 high speed line running to Birmingham and London.
But there are fears that construction of Northern Powerhouse Rail will be delayed until after the HS2 line is completed in 2032 or 2033.
The Government will on Tuesday be urged to ensure HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail are delivered at the same time, so that the UK has a highspeed rail network linking North to South by the early 2030s.
The plea comes from the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, which is a think tank set up by former Chancellor George Osborne.
And it is set to be backed by the All-Party Northern Powerhouse Group, co-chaired by Ms Elliott. Other members of the group include Conservative peer Lord Heseltine.
Initial plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail have been drawn up by transport body Transport for the North.
It would effectively link cities across the North to the HS2 line, which is currently will go no further north than Leeds.
Major “hub” rail stations would be located at Newcastle, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Manchester Airport and Liverpool.
The proposals would effectively turn HS2 into a service which connects northern cities to each other as well as with the Midlands and the south.
Ms Elliott is also to set to use a speech at a conference in Leeds to call for Sunderland to be included in the Northern Powerhouse Rail plans.
She said: “Delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail to cities and towns like Sunderland, Carlisle, Middlesbrough and Preston is the right aspiration for the Northern Powerhouse to get the maximum productivity benefits from this extension to the UK’s high-speed rail network beyond what HS2 will provide. Driving the North’s ambitions is a national priority.
“The economic assets of Sunderland in key sectors like digital can be fully realised when fellow Northern cities like Leeds are part of the same ecosystem – genuinely collaborating, not competing.”
Mr Burnham said: “Westminster has failed the North and given us a transport system which is simply not fit for the future. People here are no longer prepared to put up with the packed out roads and clapped out trains that we’ve endured for decades.
“We’ve has a lot of talk from ministers but now is the time for them to show their commitment to the North of England and gave us the infrastructure we need to create jobs, boost productivity and tackle the North-South divide.” The Government says it is committed to the plan and is waiting for more details.
Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani said in a recent debate: “Between 2015 and 2020, the Government will spend over £13 billion improving and modernising northern transport – this is the biggest transport investment in the region for a generation – and we are also committed to giving the great towns and cities of the north more say over transport investment through Transport for the North.
“The Northern Powerhouse Rail programme aims to dramatically improve connections between major cities across the north of England.
“Transport for the North is considering a range of options, including whether other significant economic centres could be served by Northern Powerhouse Rail. We will receive a business case from Transport for the North later this year.” Andy Burnham MP