HS2

TfN chief calls for better and fairer rail links across the north

Better transport links are needed between east and west as well as north and south to build the Northern Powerhouse, the boss of Transport for the North (TfN) has said.

David Brown told the Guardian: “Significant efforts have been put into improving north-south links. Now it’s the time to put in a comprehensive east-west plan.”

He added that he wanted to cut journey times between Liverpool and Hull and then further north to Newcastle.

The new rail link has the working title Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), but Brown, a former head of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and Merseytravel, said it wasn’t just a Crossrail or HS2 for the north.

“As a northerner I get fed up of being asked: ‘Do you want a Crossrail for the north?’ I say no, I want something that is northern, not a southern solution. But do we want a similar outcome? Yes we do. We want big, fast, frequent trains that go at a reasonable speed across the north,” he said.

TfN has commissioned Network Rail and HS2 Ltd to identify options to meet the NPR vision, with an initial prioritisation of options expected next month.

Chancellor George Osborne has also pledged £150m to pay for a smart ticketing and information system to allow travellers to use contactless debit cards, phones or watches to travel across the region on different modes of transport without being “ripped off”.

Brown said the new system was “not an Oystercard” and will be a system that is “easy to use and that [passengers] can use on every train.”