“Pioneering” project to see East Mids local authorities manage rail services
Areas of the East Midlands have been included in a “pioneering” new government project that will see the region and much of the North given new transport powers.
New legal powers to give the North an “unprecedented” say on how money is spent on transport have been announced by Transport Minister Jesse Norman.
Legislation to transform Transform for the North (TfN) into the first ever statutory sub-national transport body – with legal powers and duties – have been laid in Parliament.
In the East Midlands, Rail North, an association of local authorities – including all the TfN members and Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottingham and Stoke-on-Trent will also formally become part of TfN and work with government to co-manage the Northern and Transpennine Express rail franchises.
The Department for Transport has also confirmed the award of £18.5m from a £150m government fund for TfN’s smart ticketing programme. TfN will use this to introduce paperless, smart card season tickets for Northern and TransPennine Express and Merseyrail passengers by the end of 2018.
The remaining funding is available for proposals to extend smart ticketing across public transport in the North, giving passengers more flexibility and a better integrated travel experience, including the ability to renew tickets online, fewer queues at stations and faster journeys through ticket barriers.
TfN – backed with up to £260m of government funding – says it will “transform transport across the North of England, providing the infrastructure needed to drive economic growth and create jobs and boost skills.”
Transport Minister Jesse Norman said: “We are committed to the Northern Powerhouse, and to giving the great towns and cities of the North more say over transport investment through their umbrella body TfN. This government is investing the most cash for a generation in transport projects for the North. These new powers will give TfN far greater influence over national infrastructure decisions, as well the certainty they need to plan and drive forward projects such as Northern Powerhouse Rail and smart ticketing.”
The move to put TfN on a statutory footing means that its recommendations must be formally considered by the government.
