Northern rail links set to be greatly improved

Justine Greening told the Yorkshire Post she wants to see “much better connectivity” between cities outside London and that her department is looking “very seriously” at implementing the entire £500m Northern Hub project as part of a five-year rail spending plan to be revealed this summer.

The Northern Hub is a broad package of measures put together by Network Rail designed to improve services right across the North of England.

Faster journey times and up to 700 extra trains per day across the North would be among the benefits of a scheme which supporters describe as the Northern equivalent of London’s £14bn Crossrail project, which will overhaul rail services in the capital.

A study published today by the Northern Economic Futures Commission claims the Northern Hub package would create 20,000-30,000 extra jobs and add over £4bn to the Northern economy.

An Early Day Motion has been put forward in Parliament calling for the Government to give the programme the green light.

Ms Greening made it clear yesterday that she shares the desire of local politicians, commuters and businesses to see rail services between Northern cities markedly upgraded, alongside plans for a high-speed rail link to London.

“We have already committed to the electrification of the trans-Pennine (route), which is one part of that Northern Hub package,” the Transport Secretary said.

“We are right in the middle of our... spending review for railways for the next four to five years, and the Northern Hub package is one of the things we’re considering within that.

“It is a very interesting project, because in many respects it shows that connectivity between Northern cities matters incredibly.

“We do see how it fits in with that overall desire that I’ve got to see much better connectivity between cities, not just with cities to London, and so we are looking at it very seriously.”

The Rotherham-born Transport Secretary held a meeting with Yorkshire MPs earlier this week to hear them make the case for full implementation of the Northern Hub scheme by 2019.

Eighteen MPs have so far signed the Early Day Motion, including Pudsey Conservative Stuart Andrew and Calder Valley Conservative Craig Whittaker.

West Yorkshire transport body Metro wants further MPs to sign up. Metro chairman James Lewis “Quicker journeys and more frequent services are among the benefits that would come from a fully funded Northern Hub scheme, which is forecast to deliver £4.2bn-worth of economic benefits including up to 30,000 jobs.”

Those figures are supported by the new NEF Commission report, which backs Northern Hub and also calls for a £30m connection from the new high-speed rail line to the Midland Mainline which serves South and East Yorkshire; as well as further electrification and upgrades to rolling stock.

The study reveals that 87 per cent of the Northern Rail franchise’s rolling stock was manufactured in the 1980s or earlier, while more than half in the South East has been built since 2000.

Commission chairman Geoff Muirhead said: “Transport infrastructure is crucial for ensuring the Northern economy is the driver of national prosperity that it has the potential to be.”

Ms Greening also said she wants to see regional airports “flourish”, and that she hopes to make an announcement soon regarding pre-preparatory work on the long-awaited A63 upgrade in Hull.