Government plans for rail criticised

19 January 2022

The North has been badly let down by the Government's Integrated Rail Plan.

The Secretary of State’s recent piece in the Yorkshire Post was extraordinary.

His government made promise after promise about how they would deliver a new rail line between Leeds and Manchester, making commitment after commitment about full delivery of HS2. Objecting to their watered-down plans that don’t serve the best interests of our communities is far from irrational.

As Mayors we’re standing up for our regions, standing up for the people we represent. We are their voice. The plans put forward by Transport for the North were developed by Northern leaders and officials who all experience our creaking rail infrastructure day in, day out. We share the challenges and frustrations of fellow passengers. As a result, we know precisely what our communities need, for now and the long term. The tone of the Secretary of State’s article was incredibly disrespectful to legitimate critique of government policy. 

It is true that a new high-speed line between Leeds and Manchester, with a stop in Bradford, would have created some disruption for those cities. But I know that people who live and work in Bradford wouldn’t have minded this as it would have delivered a mainline station in the city for the first time, bringing jobs, businesses, and opportunities to the city in the long term. The government’s plan fails to deliver all of these benefits, which is why people in West Yorkshire are so angry and frustrated with the decisions that have been made.

Victorian infrastructure

The claims that have been made to “double or even treble capacity on many key routes” is a bold one. Many transport experts are sceptical about whether this is possible under the government’s plans. Putting fast inter-city connections alongside stopping services on upgraded Victorian infrastructure is unlikely to achieve what has been claimed. To achieve some of the stated journey times between Leeds and Manchester or Leeds and Bradford, some think that this could lead to a reduction in services in towns like Dewsbury, Batley and Pudsey.

What’s disappointing is that we’re not able to scrutinise the evidence base to back up the Secretary of State’s claims. I’ve written to him to ask that the evidence is made public, to allow us all proper scrutiny, and allow the people in the North to see how they stack up.