Take the train? You might as well go by horse & cart

‘Overloaded lines can’t cope’

LINK TransPennine Express train

TRAINS in parts of northern England are barely quicker than a horse and cart, research has revealed.

Congestion means freight trains go at 16mph on major east-west lines – with a knockon effect on passenger services.

The report said the network “doesn’t work” due to “overloaded long-distance, commuter and freight traffic all competing for too little space on the tracks”. HS2 is not expected to be completed to the North until 2040, and the report says there are “serious problems to be addressed in the North’s rail network in the next five to 10 years that cannot wait for flagship schemes”.

It adds: “The network doesn’t work, crucially through Manchester, but also Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield. Stations and lines are at capacity, or in Manchester’s case overcapacity.”

The Revisiting High Speed North report, led by Jim Steer, a former director of the Strategic Rail Authority, recommends a “super hub” in Manchester with a tunnel into Piccadilly station for fast trains from Wales, Chester, Liverpool and Barrow.

The study said freight trains between Liverpool and Drax power station in North Yorks, average 16mph, adding it is about the same on other lines.

At a trot, a horse and cart can travel at 15mph.

The Department for Transport said it is “investing a record £48billion” to revamp railways, including reopening lines and stations in the North and upgrading infrastructure.