Grayling warned on city centre site
One promise kept by Grayling
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling’s personal commitment to bringing high-speed rail to Bradford has been welcomed by politicians of all sides.
But they also warned the Tory Minister that he must back plans for a station on the proposed Northern Powerhouse Rail link to be in the city centre.
TRANSPORT SECRETARY Chris Grayling’s personal commitment to bringing high-speed rail to Bradford has been welcomed by politicians of all sides.
But they also warned the Tory Minister that he must now back plans for a station on the proposed Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) link to be placed in the city centre.
Mr Grayling told a reception at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Tuesday night that he was “particularly aware of the fact that Bradford is a great and important centre in the North which is woefully badly-served by transport”. He then said he was “committed to making sure” that the proposed high speed rail link connecting the North’s biggest cities reaches Bradford.
Responding yesterday, Conservative MP for Shipley, Philip Davies said: “I am absolutely delighted.
“We have been lobbying the Government about this for some considerable time and the Transport Secretary has always been sympathetic to the case we have made.
“This is crucial to the Bradford district economy and we now need to ensure the NPR station is in the centre of Bradford.”
Labour MP for Bradford South Judith Cummins called for a guarantee to back up Mr Grayling’s words.
“This is a welcome statement from the Transport Secretary, but a personal commitment from him still falls short of what Bradford needs,” she told The Yorkshire Post.
“What I need from government is a cast-iron guarantee that the high-speed rail link will stop in Bradford and I will keep the pressure on them until that is forthcoming.”
Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe also said she “strongly welcomes” the comments and backed calls for an NPR station in the city centre.
“Over the past 18 months, civic, business and community leaders in Bradford and across the North have campaigned tirelessly to make the case for a Bradford city centre station as part of NPR. Our economic research shows it would add £15.5bn to the Northern economy and our engagement in the community has shown the clear need and demand for this rail investment.
“The timing of Chris Grayling’s pledge of support is particularly significant. The business case for the new high-speed rail line is at a critical stage before Transport for the North submits it to the Government at the end of the year.
“Bradford is a great and important centre in the North, with a young and vibrant population and a thriving business community.
“For the North of England to be successful, Bradford needs to be successful.”
Earlier this week, the head of Transport for the North said getting the Government to approve NPR was the key to giving the region’s growth a “turbo charge”.
Barry White told a fringe meeting at the Conservative conference that his organisation would be submitting the business case for Northern Powerhouse Rail to the Department for Transport in December. A decision is due in the first three months of 2019.
The project would cut journey times between Manchester and Leeds by 30 minutes and put 1.3 million people within an hour of at least four of the North’s main economic centres.
The business case for the rail line is at a critical stage. Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council.
THE CONTEXT is critical to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling’s “very strong and personal commitment” to improving Bradford’s rail links with the rest of the region.
This is not entirely new. Mr Grayling made similar utterances to Leeds Chamber of Commerce in January last year. However, given the lack of public trust in Mr Grayling, it is, at the very least, noteworthy that he’s not forgotten his promise to Bradford – and The Yorkshire Post is happy to place his comments on the record.
However words alone will not suffice. The Transport Secretary – and his successors – should be judged by their actions. And, in this regard, this a Government that not only over-promises and underdelivers when it comes to rail policy but which remains bereft of credibility following this year’s timetable turmoil and the human impact of so much disruption on so many families and businesses.
Yet the one positive consequence of Mr Grayling’s mishandling of so many rail promises, and abject failure to accept any responsibility for his department’s failings, is that he’s galvanised the North’s political, business and civic leaders. They now speak with one voice as they push for Transport for the North to be given the policy – and financial – powers that it needs if rail services here, and specifically links between the region’s great cities, are to finally become comparable to the standard of services long taken for granted in London and the Home Counties. And, for Mr Grayling’s benefit, this pressure will only intensify until the Government finally gets services in cities like Bradford back on track after decades of neglect.