Over 36,000 sign petition demanding rethink on Leeds to Manchester high-speed line

The petition arranged by the 38 Degrees campaigning organisation says the Government has missed “a key opportunity to deliver on the levelling up agenda” by downgrading Northern Powerhouse Rail plans so that a new line will only run from Warrington to Marsden on the edge of Yorkshire rather than a full new line.

Coun Louise Gittins, Interim Chairman of Transport for the North, said the Government should heed the petition and rethink its Integrated Rail Plan.

“We would ask the Government to listen to what the people who live and work in this region say on the need for a transport network that will transform connectivity from the North-East to the North-West and everywhere in between.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to empower the North.

“Take this opportunity and we will not only gain a financial return on investment, but also economic growth, a greener transport network, social mobility, and so much more – we will start to build a new North of England that everyone wants to see.”

Natasha Ives, campaign manager at 38 Degrees, said: “Tens of thousands of members of the public have made their views on the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan very clear: it’s simply not good enough.

“Voters right across the country are looking at the state of rail travel in the North – and the promises made by this Government – and are demanding better.

“It’s time for Boris Johnson to listen.”

One woman from North Yorkshire who has signed the petition said she was particularly unhappy Bradford had been missed off the Northern Powerhouse Rail route.

“My son has lived in Bradford for over 10 years and the terrible train service has been a major issue all of this time,” she said.

“We’ve only just got rid of the terrible Pacer trains. A city of over 500,000 not on a main line is a disgrace.”

Another woman from Sheffield, who has also signed the petition, said current journey times by rail across the North are “ridiculously slow”.

She said: “The North has been ignored for too long.

“Why is all the funding for modern and efficient transport concentrated in the South? I live in Sheffield, and if I want to travel East or West, the journey times, on ancient trains, are ridiculously slow or even almost impossible.

“To go to Huddersfield takes maybe less than an hour in the car, but going by train means going slowly and being uncomfortable in shabby, crowded carriages and stopping frequently. To go to Whitby by train requires two changes and takes so long. All this proves very expensive and frustrating.”

One man from Huddersfield, who cannot drive due to having epilepsy, said the lack of decent rail connections was making it difficult to get to his “hard-earned dream job” in Manchester.

Current plan 'will cut journey times'

The Government’s Integrated Rail Plan proposals will see journey times between Leeds and Manchester cut from a current 55 minutes to 33 minutes.

It also states that its revised HS2 plans – which will see the eastern leg route end in the East Midlands rather than Leeds as had been originally planned – will still see HS2 services serve Yorkshire via Sheffield and involve train times from and to London that are the same as what was originally proposed.

A study has been ordered by the Government into how to connect Leeds up to the revised HS2 route.

Read more:

Northern Powerhouse Rail downgrade 'even more damaging than HS2 axe', says Rachel Reeves

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