Minister has just the ticket for transport

THE Government has pledged to end years of chronic under-investment in northern transport with “smart-ticketing” to accompany major infrastructure spending.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening said that “massive progress” had been made towards an integrated ticketing system, similar to London’s Oyster cards.

Outlining her vision for Yorkshire transport, Ms Greening said she believed it was vital to bring together major economies such as Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester.

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However the Minister would not guarantee completely funding two essential major projects.

One, the £580m Northern Hub, should let 700 more trains a day run between Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield. The Association of West Yorkshire Authorities hopes to raise as much as £1bn locally, providing Whitehall will provide about 20 per cent more.

“I don’t think an integrated fast transport system for the North is pie in the sky,” she said. “It is plausible that we will start to see big steps forward using smart ticketing.”