THE YORKSHIRE AGENDA ON: TRANSPORT

TALK TO almost any civic or business leader and they will say the key to unlocking Yorkshire’s economic potential as a significant and swift upgrade to its transport network.

Two years on from the last election when grand promises were made in that regard and yet to many it feels that this region remains very much in the slow lane.

Questions remain over the speed with which HS2 can be constructed and in particular the idea, backed by David Cameron in 2015. that the stretch between Leeds and Sheffield could be constructed ahead of the rest of the project.

The case for high speed transPennine services appears to be broadly accepted but there is still no route, budget or timetable for their delivery. The last Conservative manifesto promised a rollout of further electrification of the rail network but since the last election the projects to upgrade the Midland Mainline and the transPennine North routes have been beset by difficulties and the proposal to electrify the line between Selby and Hull has been dropped altogether. The next Government will face demands that millions of pounds are spent on the renewal of the Supertram system in Sheffield while the long-proposed tramtrain trial has been repeatedly delayed.

Leeds looks set to see some progress after the council and the Government reached agreement on a £173m package of improvements last month.

But that money was made available followed the collapse of the trolleybus scheme, itself a successor to the failed Leeds tram project, which leaves one of the UK’s biggest cities without a mass transit system.

North Yorkshire needs investment in east-west road connections and the next Government should look favourably on the emerging plan for a package of improvements along a corridor stretching from the Lancashire border to the coast including the dualling of the A64.