Grayling defends scaling back rail for North
Electrification in doubt, but better signals offered
TRANSPORT SECRETARY Chris Grayling will today defend the Government’s decision to scale back electrification schemes in the region as he unveils plans to turn the trans-Pennine route into Britain’s first digitally-controlled intercity railway.
In his second major intervention since the announcement that several long-awaited rail electrification projects are to be scrapped, the minister will tell business leaders he remains committed to electrification in principle but only “where it has benefits for passengers”.
He will also confirm £5m of funding to support the roll-out of new signalling technology on the York to Manchester line, with the aim of delivering “a more reliable and safer railway”.
But local politicians have attacked the proposals, arguing that they are no replacement for a fully electrified line.
The Government first revealed that it had abandoned electrification schemes in Wales, the Midlands and Yorkshire in July, arguing that new technology – including bi-modal trains – could provide the same benefits with less disruption.
This led to speculation about the future of the trans-Pennine electrification project, with Chancellor Philip Hammond telling this paper last month that a decision was yet to be made on whether to proceed.
The Government sparked further outrage in region when it subsequently renewed its support for London’s £30bn CrossRail 2. This prompted accusations that ministers had turned their backs on the Northern Powerhouse.
Mr Grayling will seek to downplay these fears as he delivers an address to the Business North forum in Manchester today. He is expected to tell the audience that he remains committed to electrification “where it has benefits for passengers”, while urging his critics not to fixate only on “how a train is powered”.
“Our programme of electrification is continuing, and soon we will have electrified not three times, but dozens of times more railway than Labour did,” he will say. “That means more electrification in and around Manchester, and looking at electrification as part of passenger improvements across the Pennines.
“But people have got to stop only thinking about how a train is powered, and focus instead on getting the best possible improvement for passengers. What delivers better journey times is actually the way you upgrade the tracks and the signalling, and how you invest in trains.”
The £5m fund will explore how digital technology can used in the trans-Pennine upgrade.
Responding to the announcement, Shadow Transport Minister and York Central MP Rachael Maskell said passengers in the region “won’t be fooled”. “The wider upgrades that the Transport Secretary refers to would have also been part of the Transpennine upgrade, and while we need to ensure that these go ahead, it is no compromise for full electrification,” she said.
FOR THOSE living in Kirby Misperton in North Yorkshire, the topic of fracking will never have been far from their thoughts over the past three years as the village has been unwittingly placed at the epicentre of the national battle over the controversial shale gas extraction process. But there remains an alarming lack of wider public knowledge about the issue.
The situation in Ryedale has escalated this week with multiple arrests taking place as protests against planned test-drilling on the outskirts of the village see environmental campaigners attempting to block specialist equipment entering the site ahead of the work starting later this year.
If the eight-week test does prove fracking is commercially viable, it may well pave the way for the process to be expanded across Yorkshire.
Third Energy alone has six existing well sites in North Yorkshire where it has confirmed it may consider “further appraisal activity”.
The Government is clear that fracking is an important part of its strategy to provide the UK with greater energy security, but campaigners point to recent decisions in Australia which have seen several states impose moratoriums on the process in light of environmental concerns and highlight how tests conducted in Lancashire in 2011 were found to be the probable cause of minor earthquakes in the area.
Alarmingly, a recent poll found more than half the population does not have any view, positive or negative, on fracking – something put down to “a lack of knowledge”.
The significance of the tests in Ryedale means it is certain that campaigners, regulators and the Government will be watching the results closely. With only one chance to get this right, it is important there is greater understanding of an issue that will affect the area for years to come.