The government has announced that people across the North of England are set to benefit from ambitious new rail investment, as the Department for Transport launches its plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
As part of plans to drastically improve rail transport across the North, NPR will look to boost economic potential and living standards through the provision of more reliable and frequent rail services. By improving this transport, boosted productivity can add up to £40 billion a year to the UK economy.
The first phase of the work will see a priority set on work between Leeds – Sheffield, Leeds – York, and Leeds – Bradford which will come through upgrades and electrification. Alongside these routes, the plans will progress the business case for the Leamside Line in the Northeast, to ensure that the NPR services stretch all the way to Newcastle.
With £1.1 billion of funding set aside to drive forward the planning and development part of the project, stations in Leeds, Sheffield and York will be improved to support NPR’s goal of regeneration to unlock tens of thousands of homes and jobs within those communities. Work on Bradford Station will also be progressed to make sure that the city, which is seeing regeneration move forward after its time as City of Culture in 2025, is at the heart of the network.
In South Yorkshire, a Rotherham Gateway Station will be developed thanks to more than £11 million of local transport funding, which will also complement the regeneration plans that have been set aside for that town.
Recent investment of £4 billion in the East Coast Mainline will also be followed by regular services to Newcastle via Darlington and Durham.
Currently, travelling to Manchester from Sheffield or Bradford can take up to 54 minutes, despite approximately 30 miles separating Manchester and the Yorkshire cities. In comparison, the 35-mile journey from Reading to London Paddington only takes 22 minutes. Alongside this disparity, there are only two fast trains per hour between Leeds and Manchester despite the route being hugely popular, resulting in travellers often facing major overcrowding across the entirety of their journey – especially when travelling at commuting times.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said:
“For too long, the North has been held back by underinvestment and years of dither and delay – but that ends now.
“This new era of investment will not just speed up journeys, it will mean new jobs and homes for people, making a real difference to millions of lives.
“The exciting, improved stations across Leeds, Sheffield, York, and Bradford will reflect the prestigious place rail holds in the northern economy, and regenerate vibrant, bustling districts in these cities.
“The first phase of Northern Powerhouse Rail will prioritise upgrading rail connections across Yorkshire and progressing work on the business case for the Leamside Line as part of ensuring services reach Newcastle, improving opportunities across the region.”
The second phase of the NPR project will see vast improvements across the Northwest, with a brand-new line being constructed between Liverpool and Manchester.
The route will run between the two major cities via Manchester Airport and Warrington and will connect to the improvements being introduced across the Pennines to Yorkshire.
Stations will also benefit from the plans, with three new stations being built at Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly, and Warrington Bank Quay Low Level, with delivery beginning in the 2030s. In order to increase the capacity at Manchester Airport, today has seen plans approved – and supported by £115 million – to lengthen platforms at the existing station to accommodate longer, more frequent trains.
Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool Central stations are currently being considered for improvements, with this coming alongside work that the government is doing with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
All of the plans mentioned above will come in addition to the £11 billion Transpennine Route Upgrade, which is already underway to reduce the journey times between York, Leeds, Huddersfield, and Manchester, as well as supporting the development of new homes.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, also commented on the new plans:
“Two hundred years ago, we built the world’s first passenger railway between Liverpool and Manchester – and changed history. After more than a decade of dither, delay, and broken promises, this is the start of a new era, with a genuinely strategic approach and a government finally backing Northern Powerhouse Rail in full.”
“A creaking rail system has held the North back for too long. Our journeys aren’t just slower – our growth has been slower too. Poor connectivity doesn’t just hold people back – it holds our economy back. It limits our productivity, restricts freight capacity, and chokes off opportunity.
“Today that changes. This is the kind of ambition we’ve been crying out for. Not another empty slogan or back of a fag packet plan but real investment, delivered in a proper partnership with local leaders that will unleash our latent potential and unlock growth in all of our communities right across the great North.”
The programme will have a funding cap of £45 billion, with £1.1 billion of the current Spending Review period. In order to ensure that delays are reduced and projects don’t go over budget, the government will collaborate with local partners to make sure that the planning process is carried out efficiently.
All this work comes as cities such as Sheffield and Newcastle are growing twice as fast as the UK average since 2019, whilst Manchester finds itself growing four times as fast. Alongside this, Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter houses the ‘future of life sciences’ as it serves as a home to innovative business and research, universities, and hospitals.
Leeds and the wider West Yorkshire are beginning to come into their own as the ‘Northern Square Mile’ when it comes to financial services, whilst South Yorkshire sits at the forefront of Defence and Advanced Manufacturing. Further north, Newcastle’s research, and innovation sector is also growing.
To make sure that the full potential of Northern Powerhouse Rail is realised, the government has also established long-term plans to see a new north-south line between Birmingham and Manchester. This will improve capacity and connectivity on the West Coast Main Line.
The government has been clear that this project is not a revival of HS2 Phase 2, with the government instead launching a feasibility study to use local partners to establish what will be delivered, when, and to what specifications. As part of the delivery of this, the government has confirmed that it will be an incremental programme, with the Northern Growth Corridor improvements being prioritised and any land purchased between the West Midlands and Crewe being retained in the meantime.
In response to the announcement of the plans, Zoë Billingham, Director of IPPR North, said:
“The government has demonstrated strong political commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail, with commitment from the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and two secretaries of state.
“The North needs a credible growth strategy to unlock its economic potential, rooted in rail. Transport provides a backbone to the economy by connecting people with jobs, businesses, and supply chains. Fuelling economic growth in the North is the engine for economic growth for the whole country - and a crucial lever to improve living standards.
“Yet over the past decade, the North has been shortchanged in its transport investment; IPPR North research shows the region is owed a debt of £140 billion since 2009/10. It's good to see a £45bn commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail, but so far only £1.1billion is guaranteed.
“Now the government need to get moving and get those spades in the ground quickly; only then will the public place their trust in this critical project.”
Image credit: iStock
