Less than a minute will be shaved off rail journeys between Hull and Leeds following a £1bn investment in battery-electric trains, which could take until the end of 2034 to deliver, it has emerged.

Lib Dem peer Lord Dave McCobb said after years of promises and a devolution deal that committed to improve travel times, the marginal gain was an “an insult to every commuter, traveller and business in East Yorkshire”.

In a written response to Lord McCobb, Rail Minister Lord Hendy confirmed the journey time between Hull and Leeds would only be reduced by "up to a minute" and by five to six minutes for journeys from Hull to Manchester.

Hull was not included in the £45bn Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme announced in January, which will see lines electrified between Leeds, York and Sheffield.

Lord Dave McCobb, Hull's Liberal Democrat Peer, has accused the Government of dodging its promise to electrify Hull's railway.

placeholder image — Lord Dave McCobb, Hull's Liberal Democrat Peer, has accused the Government of dodging its promise to electrify Hull's railway.

New battery trains, which will be built for TransPennine at Alstom's historic Litchurch Lane Works in Derby, will run in future on routes connecting Liverpool, Manchester, York, Hull, Scarborough and Saltburn.

Lord McCobb pointed to commitments in Hull and East Yorkshire’s devolution deal, agreed by successive governments, to “electrifying and improving the line speed between Hull to Leeds and Hull to Sheffield” in order to “cut the journey between Leeds and Hull from 58 to 48 minutes; and from Hull to Manchester from 107 to 84 minutes.”

Labour MPs Dame Diana Johnson and Emma Hardy this week urged Hull Trains and Northern Trains to commit to battery-electric when they renew their fleets.

Speaking to the BBC, Dame Diana said: "That means we will, in effect, have the electrification of the line to Hull". She said battery-electric trains are "quicker than diesel trains".

Lord McCobb said: "Earlier this week Hull’s Labour MPs were writing letters cheering these new battery powered trains, as though they were the answer to improving Hull’s connections across the Pennines.

“Now their own minister has confirmed they will make virtually no difference to the Hull to Leeds travel times, and are up to eight years away. It’s an outrage, and our part of Yorkshire deserves better.

"I will keep pressing ministers until Hull and East Yorkshire get the faster travel times we were promised. Our area has waited long enough."

Dame Diana said: “On 16 November, it will be ten years since Hull was left out in the cold when Lord McCobb’s Tory former Coalition partners blocked our £100m privately-financed Hull rail electrification scheme.

"In contrast, we can now build upon our Government’s recent £45bn Northern Powerhouse Rail announcement.

"With Reform threatening to axe it, working cross-party on driving this forward is more important for the Humber than political point-scoring.”