Government sets out plans for north of England rail investment

The government has set out its vision for major rail improvements in the north of England that it says will transform the region and boost the UK economy, more than a decade after such a project was first proposed.

The multi-billion pound scheme, known as Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), aims to deliver faster journeys and more frequent train services across the North through a combination of improved and new lines and improvements to stations.

An initial £1.1 billion was allocated for design and preparation. Construction isn’t expected to begin until after 2030.

The government said the aircraft would be delivered in phases, starting with upgrading the lines between Leeds, York, Bradford and Sheffield.

According to an outline of the plan, phase two will be the construction of a new route between Liverpool and Manchester and phase three will improve links between Manchester and cities in Yorkshire.

The government has said “transforming” travel in the North would shorten commutes and stimulate investment across the region, adding £40bn to the British economy.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the cycle of “paying lip service to the North’s potential” must end.

“This government is rolling up its sleeves to deliver real, lasting change,” he said.

Successive governments have pledged to unlock the North’s economic potential through infrastructure investment.

The Northern Powerhouse project was first proposed by former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne in 2014, with Boris Johnson later elected on a “levelling up” agenda.

However, the promised railway investments were reduced.

The government plans to make NPR the focus of a wider Northern Growth Strategy to be published in the spring.

The first phase of the NPR will also see improvements to train stations in Leeds, Sheffield and York, the government said.

Plans include continuing construction of a highly anticipated new station in Bradford; Proponents of the station say it will allow young job seekers in the city to access a much wider range of opportunities.

A new station is also expected at Rotherham Gateway.

Additionally, the Department for Transport (DfT) said there was a business case for reopening the facility. Leamside line It will follow in the Northeast.

The government has not announced a firm budget or committed to specific funding beyond 2029, other than the £1.1bn allocated to develop the plans.

Instead a ceiling of £45bn was set for central funding. The government said that this figure could be increased with contributions from local governments.

“The North has long been held back by underinvestment, years of indecision and delay,” said Transport Minister Heidi Alexander.

“This new era of investment will not only speed up journeys, it will mean new jobs and homes for people and make a real difference to millions of lives.”

The DfT said lessons had been learned over the past decade from attempts to build the HS2 network, which was seriously over budget, behind schedule and significantly scaled back from its original concept.

Originally it was supposed to be a Y-shaped line from London, branching off at Birmingham towards Manchester and Leeds.

It will now end in Birmingham and It is expected to cost at least £80 billion.

The government has also said it plans to build a new rail link between Birmingham and Manchester following the completion of the NPR, but it is unclear whether this will be a high-speed line.

The government aims to prevent a repeat of HS2 cost overruns by preparing a detailed plan over a three-year period. This also allows the allocation of further funds to be postponed while public finances are under pressure.

The Conservatives accused the government of “watering down” Northern Powerhouse Rail, saying ministers were “actually withdrawing delivery plans and rewriting timetables on the fly”.

Shadow rail minister Jerome Mayhew said: “Labor is lurching from review to review, deadline to deadline, with no control over costs, no clarity on scope and no courage to make decisions.

“Northern Powerhouse Rail could have a transformative impact, powering regional growth and regeneration. Under Labor it risks becoming a permanent mirage, constantly redesigned, downgraded and never delivered.”

Jerome Frost, chief executive of major engineering and construction firm Arup, said the new investment “will help unlock the region’s vast economic potential”.

Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, an organization set up to support the coordinated economic development of northern England, said the plan provided “a clear pathway to higher productivity growth”.

He continued: “Northern Powerhouse Rail will enable a single labor market similar to that in London and the South East, so a young person in Bradford can aspire to work in Sheffield or Manchester, or a business there can attract talent from further afield than it does today.”