Major £14bn plan to fix 'broken' rail system in English region: Two new stations, capacity upgrades and electrification to speed up journeys
A major £14billion plan to fix Yorkshire's 'broken' rail system' was unveiled today, including building two new stations and increasing capacity at three hubs.
Former home secretary Lord Blunkett said the proposal 'presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' improve connectivity and unlock economic growth in the region.
The Labour peer has published an infrastructure plan which recommends building a new through-station for Bradford and a mainline station at Rotherham.
The report also outlines the need for increasing capacity at Leeds, Sheffield and York stations, as well as upgrades and electrification between Leeds and Sheffield.
Increasing the frequency of services for places including Scarborough, the Esk Valley, Penistone Line and Wakefield district's Five Towns is also part of the proposal.
The plan launched with the metro mayors of West, South and North Yorkshire calls on the Government to deliver on its promises to back transport in northern England.
Sheffield-born Lord Blunkett, who was home secretary from 2001 to 2004, said Yorkshire's Plan for Rail would deliver a huge boost to jobs, growth and new housing.
He is launching the plan in Leeds today alongside West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin, South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, and York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith, who signed the White Rose Agreement earlier this year to work together.
York station (pictured) would also get a capacity upgrade as part of Lord Blunkett's plans
Lord Blunkett said: 'Yorkshire has been punching under its weight for far too long, and with the White Rose Agreement and this infrastructure plan, the three mayors are determined to reverse this historic trend.
'It's been a pleasure to be asked to pull together this credible and affordable plan, which presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve rail connectivity and unlock economic growth and opportunities for all.
'By taking action now, the benefits of releasing capacity, speeding up journeys, improving reliability and running more frequent services will be felt not just here, but across the North, Midlands and beyond. It's time to back Yorkshire.'
Lord Blunkett's review outlines how a 'creaking Victorian-era infrastructure' is holding back a region of 4.6million people, with poor and unreliable services regularly failing to meet the needs of passengers and businesses.
It sets out a need for substantial investment as part of the Government's proposed 10-year infrastructure plan and spending review later this year, with £2.4billion required between now and 2030, and approximately £14billion in total.
The report said targeted rail investment has the potential to add £20billion to the region's economy and could help generate an extra 83,000 jobs.
Mayor of West Yorkshire Ms Brabin said: 'A lack of investment stretching back decades has left Yorkshire with a rail network no longer fit for purpose.
'This is holding back ambitious growth plans for our regions which will put more money in people's pockets.
'We owe it to everyone, especially younger generations, to secure our fair share of funding so the region's train services are suitable for the modern age, getting passengers to where they need to go, when they want to go.'
The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire Mr Skaith said: 'Working together, we can drive real change and boost opportunities across our region.
'This is a credible, long-term plan to deliver the connectivity our communities need - creating better access to jobs, education and investment.'
And South Yorkshire's Mayor Mr Coppard said: 'David Blunkett has, for the first time, made clear the problems created by decades of under-investment across the whole of Yorkshire and given us a plan for fixing them, working together across the whole of God's Own Country.'
He added: 'Ultimately, we simply want reliable, effective rail services, so we can get to work, see friends and family or just go for a night out.
'Through this plan, there is a pathway with a phased approach to fix our broken rail system.'
The Department for Transport said it will consider Lord Blunkett's recommendations carefully, stressing that it is committed to improving transport across the North.
A spokesman said: 'Reliable and affordable public transport links are essential for supporting jobs and driving economic growth, key to our Plan for Change, and making travelling quicker, easier, and greener.
'We are investing in the North and delivering transformational projects across the region, such as the multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade, and we're maintaining momentum on Northern Powerhouse Rail by progressing planning and design works to support future delivery.
'We will continue to work with local leaders to improve rail connectivity.'
It said it has asked Network Rail to maintain development work for updates at Leeds, Sheffield, and Bradford, and is supporting West Yorkshire's mass transit plans by providing £200million development funding.
The department also said it had prioritised funding to develop plans for a new Rotherham Mainline station and to renew the Supertram network, connecting Sheffield and Rotherham.
And it said that, under Great British Railways, there will be a statutory role for devolved leaders in governing, managing, planning and developing the rail network.
The announcement comes two days after a new railway line between Liverpool and Manchester that would 'punch well above its weight' was proposed by regional leaders in the North West.
Mayors Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham, alongside former rail minister Huw Merriman, are urging the Government to support the plans.
A report outlining the case for the new Liverpool-Manchester Railway states it would cut journey times between the city centres to 32 minutes, compared with an average of 49 minutes currently.
It would also bring more than half a million more people within 30 minutes of the destinations.
The line would run from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly, with stops at a new Liverpool Gateway station, Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Airport.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Job losses at Totally as urgent NHS call firm collapses
A healthcare firm, which provided urgent care services in NHS 111 call centres, has gone into administration with the loss of 100 which employed 1,400 people across several sites in the UK, including Stockton-on-Tees and Newcastle, said workers had lost their jobs across the group but did not confirm how many had been affected at each company has been sold to PHL Group, another healthcare provider to the NHS - with the immediate transfer of 600 of its Vance, joint administrator at EY-Parthenon, said he was pleased that hundreds of jobs and "critical frontline NHS services" had been safeguarded by the sale. Derby-based Totally had been struggling since losing the NHS 111 support contract in February. Mr Vance said: "We are pleased to have agreed the sale of Totally plc which safeguards critical frontline NHS services and includes the retention of over 600 jobs." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
Why is Kemi Badenoch engaging in a new culture war on the burqa?
In clear evidence she is attempting to appeal to the right, Kemi Badenoch recently announced a review of Conservative policy on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and promised the end of 'lawfare' against service personnel accused of crimes as well as curbs on 'activist' judges. Over the weekend, prompted by developments in Reform UK, she also said she wouldn't speak to any constituent who came to one of her surgeries wearing a burqa, and described sharia courts and cousin marriage as 'insidious'. It feels a bit desperate… What is Kemi Badenoch up to? You don't have to be an expert engineer, as she is, to work it out. Reform UK and Nigel Farage have been eating her lunch, opening up a 10-point lead in the opinion polls, taking eight county councils from the Conservatives, humiliating Tory candidates in the Runcorn and Hamilton (Scottish parliament) by-elections, grabbing media attention (albeit not always positive) and generally behaving like the 'real' opposition – more rallies, more headlines, more ideas, more presence and momentum. Even a leader as self-confident as Badenoch has cause to be worried. What is she doing? Exactly what her critics on the right demand: attempting to appeal to ex-Conservatives who have been abstaining or defecting to Reform UK. This explains the 'culture war' assault on the independent judiciary, net zero, and human rights legislation (plus the tentative interventions on the burqa, sharia law and cousin marriage). Badenoch does point out the complexities, such as how the ECHR affects the Good Friday Agreement, and the need to take time to get things right this far away from a general election. Badenoch's line is that Labour and Reform both promise all things to all people, and she's not prepared to do that. Why are some Tories unhappy with Badenoch's leadership? Sources grumble that she doesn't work hard enough, gives an arrogant impression, and that she's not very good at Prime Minister's Questions. There's also frustration at the lack of eye-catching initiatives (as Tony Blair once called populist stuff), failure to take on Farage directly, and sheer fear of more heavy electoral losses to Reform. The smaller the Tories' representation at every tier of government, the lower their profile and relevance and the more they look like a dying party. Unlike Margaret Thatcher in opposition from 1975-79, Badenoch can't just rely on the failures of a Labour government. Crucially, the Tories now have a formidable and unprecedented challenge from the right that makes Badenoch's lack of urgency look fatal. All she can do is say she's getting better at the job of leader of the opposition, which is a tough gig. One hopeful move is that she's allowed shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, to denounce the Liz Truss era mini-Budget (without actually saying sorry). Is Badenoch popular in the party? She won the leadership election last autumn among the membership by a clear but not overwhelming margin over Robert Jenrick of 56.5 per cent to 43.5 per cent, but among MPs by only one vote over Jenrick and five ahead of third-placed James Cleverly (42, 41 and 37 MPs respectively. According to the regular Conservative Home poll of activists, Badenoch is now incredibly unpopular given her role. She stands on a net zero approval rating, way below top of the flops Jenrick (+63), Chris Philp (+39) and Stride (+34). What happens next? A possible tricky by-election in North East Somerset and Hanham, where ex-Labour MP Dan Norris was arrested and bailed on suspicion of rape, child sex offences, child abduction and misconduct in a public office and is currently sitting as an independent having been suspended from the party. He ousted Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg at the general election, and normally this would become an easy Tory gain; but now the question is whether the Tories and Reform will fight each other, potentially letting Labour back in; or will they cooperate (formally or informally) to get Rees-Mogg back, whichever party he chooses to run for.
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Rachel Reeves may have U-turned on winter fuel, but her problems are far from over
Standing in what appeared to be a garden centre to announce her latest U-turn on the pensioners' winter fuel payment, Rachel Reeves looked as if she was wilting a bit. Never at ease in front of a camera, the chancellor was more stilted than usual and didn't make much of an attempt to justify the change on any rational grounds. If this 'difficult decision' was the right thing to do last year, when the public finances were under pressure, one might ask: why is it the wrong thing to do this year, when the public finances are still under pressure, albeit for different reasons? She cannot, for reasons of pride, admit the U-turn is because of the recent electoral punishment-beating administered by an angry public – with the added force of Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage both declaring they'd restore the payment in full and immediately. She certainly cannot concede that this totem of her 'iron determination' to do whatever it took to achieve sustainable public finances has had to be tossed away, against her wishes, because the prime minister publicly ordered her to do so and her backbenchers increasingly demanded this hated policy be ditched. But she knows that everyone knows the truth – and to her credit, she cannot disguise her discomfort. She is in the worst of all worlds: she looks callous (even if she is not) but now she also looks weak, and will get few thanks for giving the winter fuel payment back (mostly). This is not a dream combination of attributes for a senior Labour figure or, for that matter, for a finance minister hoping to dazzle the markets. In fact, even in executing this U-turn she has somehow managed to botch things, by trying to retain some element of the means-testing she introduced last year, just to save face. So, even now, not all pensioners will receive their £200 or £300 (depending on age). Or rather, all will receive it initially, but some, not fantastically rich on an income of £35,000 or more, will find it entirely clawed back by HM Revenue and Customs through the self-assessment procedure. It would have been easier all round just to complete the U-turn: instead, Ms Reeves has stopped around the 170-degree mark. It hardly seems worth it. Even when it was first announced at the end of July last year, means-testing the WFP was an ill-conceived move. Of all the options available to her – and all chancellors, even in the tightest of binds, have choices – she plumped for the one that combined an incredibly modest saving (about £1.5bn) with the maximum political damage. Some 10 million active and motivated pensioners were ready to head to the nearest polling station at the earliest opportunity to make their displeasure clear. Too late, Ms Reeves and Liz Kendall pointed out how relatively generous the triple lock on the state pension was. Yet they didn't attempt to point out what a functioning NHS might do for the quality of life of older people. There was never so much as the faintest hint that an incoming Labour government would scrap something introduced by Gordon Brown and retained by the Conservatives since 2010. Making the U-turn announcement now, two days ahead of the comprehensive spending review was, presumably, an attempt to manage the news cycle – getting the good-but-embarrassing news out of the way. That might be shrewd, if the review does indeed show how the public services will 'live within their means' in the coming years, with welcome extra resources for the NHS, schools and the defence of the realm, restoring Ms Reeves's prestige. Yet the authority of the chancellor has been badly compromised by the missteps she's taken in her first year in office – unforced errors compounded by poor presentation. The so-called 'tractor tax' and an over-reliance on employers' national insurance contributions have also landed badly. As some old Treasury hands suggest, it feels very much as though her civil servants reached for their favourite policies when the inexperienced chancellor asked about options, and she accepted the recommendations all too readily, in a way her predecessors did not. Maybe the very real 'black hole' she inherited panicked her. It looks like it. At any rate, she is finding it even more difficult to resist her more powerful colleagues in the spending departments when they push for politically expedient solutions. We need not exaggerate matters, though. Ms Reeves is not like Kwasi Kwarteng being recalled from an IMF summit to be sacked by Liz Truss for delivering (her) mini-Budget in 2022. Nor is this a repeat of a dazed Norman Lamont staggering into Whitehall to announce that sterling was leaving the European ERM in 1992. Unlike in those episodes, the government's economic policy has not been destroyed by an adjustment of about £1bn in a social security budget of more than £300bn. But she knows that she is in a weakened position – and, with no following in the party, depends heavily on the confidence of the prime minister to survive. Sir Keir Starmer knows, as she does, that if he were to move her this early in the life of the government it would only make matters worse in every respect. For now, they're still in this together.
