Northern Powerhouse Rail plans represent a giant leap for transport in the region - Tracy Brabin, Oliver Coppard & David Skaith

We’ve had to put up with an overcrowded and outdated rail network for too long, holding back our ambitious plans to grow the region’s economy.

That’s why last week’s government announcement was so welcome, giving us a solid commitment to invest tens of billions of pounds in connecting our cities, towns and villages after years of delays and broken promises, delivering change on a scale we’ve been waiting decades for.

And it will be Yorkshire leading the way as Northern Powerhouse Rail improvements start to become a reality.

The first phase will focus on electrification and better connections between Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Rotherham and York, giving us faster, greener, more frequent, and above all else, reliable journeys. Improvements in and around our stations will also support our regeneration plans, unlocking tens of thousands of new homes and jobs.

This will mean we can finally stop calling Leeds the bottleneck of the North, while investment in Sheffield’s station will enable quicker, more direct services and longer trains to run.

Plans for a new mainline station at Rotherham will put one of the fastest growing parts of the North at the heart of this once in a generation plan to better connect our region.

Northern Powerhouse Rail will also improve connections across the Pennines in the form of enhancements between Sheffield and Manchester.

And a new through station for Bradford with improved links to Huddersfield, Manchester and beyond will ensure it has the connections it deserves given the size of its population and economy.

These changes will also ensure the benefits of the ongoing £11bn Transpennine Route Upgrade are maximised and problems are not shifted from one end of the line to the other.

Taken together, this week’s announcement was a clear vote of confidence in the North and its importance in driving the level of national growth Chancellor Rachel Reeves has made it her mission to deliver.

If growth is the question, transport investment is the answer, helping us to meet our growth ambitions by creating new jobs, building new homes and unlocking opportunities.

Combined together, we have a £127bn a year economy, but we’re still £25bn smaller than we should be with a productivity gap of £20bn, equivalent to 83,000 jobs, which shows the impact investments like this will have. We’ll continue working closely with the government to ensure all of these schemes come to fruition, as we know deep-rooted scepticism remains after repeated broken promises at the national level, such as the cancellation of HS2’s northern leg.

And we will not be afraid to provide challenge where we think changes can go further and faster.

The Chancellor's next Spending Review will be a key milestone; from that point and beyond.

We'll be working hard to ensure plans remain fully funded and on track. Because this announcement is just the beginning. And there’s no doubt it was our collaboration through the White Rose Rail Plan that secured this win for Yorkshire.

Rather than competing against each other for funding, we’ve worked together to look at a package of improvements that would benefit each of our areas, with our combined population of 4.5 million.

Working with Lord Blunkett, whose considerable experience and expertise has been vital in securing these upgrades for Yorkshire, we came up with a realistic and deliverable plan for improving our rail network. We’ll continue to push for all the schemes included in Yorkshire’s Plan for Rail to be delivered in full to ensure all our towns and cities benefit from this unparalleled investment.

Last year the Prime Minister said his government would correct years of unfairness and upgrade transport in the North. This is a giant leap towards fulfilling that promise.

Now let’s get to work.

Tracy Brabin is Mayor of West Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard is Mayor of South Yorkshire and David Skaith is Mayor of York and North Yorkshire.