Connect our cities

IN THE debate about Hs2 and rail investment, and bearing in mind the elizabeth Line will have services crossing London every three minutes, it is worth reflecting on how bad the trains are elsewhere in the country.

Looking at all the connections between Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and sheffield, only three services are provided by electric train and two of these date from the 1960s.

In the past 50 years, only one additional electric service has been added, linking Liverpool and Manchester. Even between these two cities, most of the fast services are diesel.

The Government promises to add Manchester to Leeds to the electric network, but that’s it. There is no suggestion an integrated electric network will be developed.

The Government needs a proper investment strategy to develop a high quality electrified network that links these eight core cities rather than letting rail services decline.

D. SMITH, Sheffield.