Transport body calls on government to deliver on £3bn Transpennine railway upgrade

The Transport for the North Board has urged the government to deliver all agreed outcomes for the £3bn upgrade of the Transpennine railway.

At a meeting yesterday in Sheffield, the board welcomed the allocation of nearly £3bn over the next five years by government as the first phase of upgrading the Transpennine railway line. TfN added: “But the Board also made a clear call to ensure that designs for the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme should allow for the full delivery of all outcomes originally agreed.”

This included target journey times of 40 minutes between Leeds and Manchester and 62 minutes between Manchester and York; six long distance trains per hour, whilst allowing for the same frequency of local trains; greater capacity through provision for longer trains; the highest reliability levels of any long-distance service in Britain; provision for freight, with the option to transport containers by rail (which is not currently possible).

Transport for the North wants to ensure that any upgrades are environmentally sustainable and do not have a negative impact on air quality.

Chairman John Cridland said: “Our call to government is an example of the North clearly stating its intent and ambition with a single voice through Transport for the North. We are pleased that the Government is showing continued commitment to the Transpennine Route Upgrade, which is a vital component of the Northern Powerhouse, and we look forward to working closely with the Department for Transport and Network Rail as detailed design begins.”

Also at the meeting,  Northern, TransPennine Express and Network Rail gave a presentation on their improvement plans. The Board expressed frustration around performance in general, and in particular the industry’s short term plans to improve the resilience of the network.

Whilst recognising that performance has improved and stabilised since the major disruptions following the May timetable change, board members repeatedly challenged representatives from Northern, Trans Pennine Express and Network Rail about the reasons for continued delays, cancellations and short-formed trains.

Transport for the North said terms had been agreed between the Rail North Partnership and Northern on compensation for some regular travellers in the most disrupted areas.