McLoughlin urged to honour Yorkshire rail pledges

The document was presented as evidence of the Government’s commitment to investing in better transport as part of its vision of creating a ‘northern powerhouse’ that can rebalance the UK economy away from its dependence on the South-East.

But there were no new schemes among the £13 billion of investment showcased in the document and no mention of revised timetables for the electrification schemes put on hold earlier this year.

Labour’s Shadow Rail Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “This is nothing more than smoke and mirrors ‎from a Government that has broken its promises to the north time and time again.

“For all their talk of a ‘northern powerhouse,’ under the Conservatives fares in the north have been hiked by up to 162 per cent, modern trains have been transferred to the south and pre-election pledges to electrify key lines have been cynically dropped.

“Instead of recycling old press releases, the Government should honour its commitments and get on with delivering electrification of the north transpennine route and the Midland Main Line.”

The Conservatives made investment in infrastructure in the North one of the central themes of their campaign to hang on to a series of key marginal seats in Yorkshire prior to the election.

But just seven weeks after polling day, Mr McLoughlin announced plans to electrify the transpennine route connecting West Yorkshire to the North West and the Midland Main Line to Sheffield on hold provoking widespread anger.

The Government has consistently blamed Network Rail for its management of the projects and has installed a new chairman who is carrying out a review of its investment plans.

The Yorkshire Post’s Back on Track campaign is calling on the Government to reinstate both schemes and set out a clear timetable for when they will be delivered.

The northern powerhouse transport blueprint highlights the Government’s investment in new trains for the East Coast Main Line and work to increase capacity between Leeds and Hull as well as a series if improvements at Leeds station.

It also sets out the Government’s spending plans for major roads through the region.

Launching the document, Mr McLoughlin said: “This one nation government is determined to close the economic gap between North and South. Investing in transport – something that successive governments have failed to do sufficiently – is vital to making that happen.

“We had a choice - building the infrastructure our country needs, or letting our transport system become a brake on growth and opportunity. We have chosen to invest for the future.

“Across the North, that investment is already having a huge impact, with programmes underway to upgrade our railways and our roads. We are determined to keep the momentum going.”

The electrification schemes were originally due to be completed by 2019 but that date had already slipped into the early 2020s before Mr McLoughlin formally put the projects on hold and asked Sir Peter Hendy, the new chairman of Network Rail, to review its plans.

The outcome of his review is expected to be known in the autumn.