Northern leaders urge fast action to tackle rail congestion hotspots

NORTHERN LEADERS have urged the Government to quickly tackle the congestion hotspots blighting the region’s rail network as part of its new plan to bring together major long-term schemes.

Transport for the North (TfN) has argued that a “phased 20year pipeline of rail investment” is needed to help the northern economy after the pandemic and unlock its future potential.

The strategic transport authority, whose board includes metro mayors and business leaders, made the case in its submission to the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan.

The plan, to be published this year, will set out how the northern legs of HS2 will link with other major projects like Northern Powerhouse Rail and the TransPennine Route Upgrade.

It was announced by Boris Johnson in February as he revealed that HS2 would be treated as part of an “integrated masterplan” named High Speed North.

In its submission, TfN makes the case for major projects to be carried out in a “phased” approach so some elements could be finished earlier than planned. But it said local and regional improvements to the existing congested rail network are needed in the shorter term.

TfN’s submission said: “Whilst we understand the focus on capacity and connectivity for this inquiry, the North’s rail network is already constrained by reliability and lacks resilience. There are a number of locations that lead to reliability issues which can spread across the North.”

From: B Burgess, Birch Drive, Willerby, Hull.

THIS was Boris Johnson’s chance to show what a strong leader he was in sacking Dominic Cummings.

The fact that he insisted on making excuses for him diminishes him in the eyes of the vast majority of people.

I have been a Tory all my life and was pleased when Boris achieved the premiership in spite of his many blunders, but I now believe it is time for him to go – he has shown he is a very weak leader and blustering won’t get him out of this one. Shame.

I did enjoy, however, Bernard Ingham’s remark that “there are better dressed rough sleepers” than Dominic Cummings (The Yorkshire Post, May 27). Perhaps he really should have been the adviser to Jeremy Corbyn.

From: Geoffrey North, Shakespeare Road, Guiseley.

FOR the last few days, Dominic Cummings has hit the coronavirus headlines. His socalled non-stop drive to Durham reminds me of the notorious 18th century highwayman, Dick Turpin, who allegedly rode overnight to York from London on Black Bess. I bet he stopped for a “comfort break”.

This leads me to a more serious matter. Successive governments have imported “outsiders” for expertise but these people have often rode roughshod over teams of civil servants. These non-elected and unaccountable ‘outsiders’ represent uneasy additions to our unwritten constitution. I feel that the Government should address the matter across parties with a view to establishing guidelines for their recruitment, terms of reference, compatibility with the Civil Service and code of conduct.

From: Hilary Andrews, Nursery Lane, Leeds.

MANY said that this pandemic would make us a kinder, united nation. Judging by the vitriolic comments against Dominic Cummings by individuals and fuelled by London-centric media, I fear not. It seems we are all selfcentred and the North-South divide is still up and running.

From: Andrew Mercer, Guiseley.

BORIS Johnson’s behaviour before the Liaison Committee showed he does not have the qualities to be a statesman – it was he, and not MPs, who was out of order.

From: Ann Hodgson, Spennithorne, Leyburn.

WE have a new word in our family vocabulary. If someone is making an excuse for their actions, it’s a Cummings!