Leaders back £39bn transport plan for the North

Rail services

Political and business leaders from across the North of England have backed plans for the region’s single biggest transport intervention since the Industrial Revolution.

The board agreed to submit proposals to invest up to £39bn in a rail network for the North, paving the way for a Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) to be submitted to Government.

It will outline how the investment could increase the capacity, speed and resilience of the North’s rail network.

Transport for the North said that with options including significant upgrades and new railway lines, work on the “transformational” network could start as early as 2024.

The document itself will remain confidential whilst considered by Government. It outlines several concepts that will form the basis of further detailed development over the next 18 months, funded by an additional £37m allocated in last Autumn’s Budget.

It features concepts aimed at fully integrating with HS2, including:

• A new line linking Leeds and Manchester via Bradford, including the option for a Bradford city centre station

• A new twin-track line linking Liverpool to HS2 and onwards to Manchester and other Northern cities, via Warrington and Manchester Airport

• Significant upgrades and integration with HS2 linking Leeds and Sheffield

• Significant upgrades between Sheffield, Leeds and Hull

• Significant upgrades of the Hope Valley corridor between Manchester and Sheffield

• Significant upgrades between Newcastle and Leeds

• Hub concepts for Northern Powerhouse Rail stations

The decision came on the day that members also approved the Strategic Transport Plan, a blueprint for investment in the North – set to be formally launched at an inaugural conference in Sheffield on Monday 11 February 2019.

Tim Wood, Transport for the North’s Northern Powerhouse Rail Director, said: “Our leaders had a vision to connect the North by rail like never before. Today, we are a step closer to making that a reality.

“In Northern Powerhouse Rail, we have turned ambition and passion into a robust evidence base for investment of up to £39 bn.

“It provides viable options and solutions to the North’s rail challenges. For too long, passengers and businesses have been held back by slower than average train speeds and poor connectivity between our city regions. If we’re going to re-balance the UK’s economy, this needs to be tackled head on.

“There’s no let up. While the Government considers this case, we will begin the more in-depth design and feasibility work that will take us closer to a final preferred network.

“If we get the right level of support and investment, the aim is to begin construction in 2024.

“With this first, high-level business case, we put investment in the North’s rail network firmly on the agenda. It lays bare our ambition. From the North, for the North.”

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