The Prime Minister is today announcing more funding to deliver the largest rail investment in the North in decades.
Sir Keir Starmer will set out plans to make the Liverpool-Hull corridor an economic superpower – rivalling the Oxford-Cambridge arc – kick-started with £1.7 billion this year.
This comes on top of other funding announced today:
- For the key rail line between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York, which has been plagued by disruptions and delays for years without a plan to fix it. The route will now be supported with £415 million in funding from the government to restore its failing services.
- For local leaders to unleash their areas’ untapped potential with over £1 billion for the North to improve the transport services people use every day – backing regional mayors and ensuring decisions about the North sit with those who call it home. This comes alongside £270 million investment in bus services and £330 million in road maintenance across the North.
The Prime Minister will make clear that these measures will better connect the North to support its thriving industries, unlocking growth in key sectors like Sheffield’s nuclear industry, booming fintech in Leeds, and cutting-edge life sciences in Liverpool. It will also support leading universities left hamstrung by poor connectivity while commuter towns and cities near London benefit from world-leading transport infrastructure.
On a visit to a factory in the North of England, the Prime Minister is expected to say that today’s funding boost must see local leaders speed up delivery of key projects in their areas, which will transform the lives of working families.
This includes:
- A Mass Transit system for West Yorkshire progressing, with the next stage of the business case expected in the Autumn – bringing growth to the largest city in Europe without a metro transport system.
- A new Merseyrail station in the Baltic Triangle – better connecting the city to ‘Britain’s coolest neighbourhood’ – starting works this Autumn and complete by Spring 2028.
- The Bury Interchange redevelopment fast-tracked with £80 million to improve bus and tram connectivity across Greater Manchester.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said “The transport system outside of London and the South East has been plagued by delays and cancellations, frustrated by strikes and failing infrastructure because upgrades that were promised were never delivered. That ends with our Plan for Change, because reliable and affordable public transport links are essential for kickstarting economic growth and putting more money in people’s pockets across the Midlands and the North.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said “For too long, the North has been left behind and relied on a crumbling transport system that’s not fit to serve the great towns and cities it’s home to. The Government’s Plan for Change will end that and schemes like the TransPennine Route Upgrade will bolster the region’s neglected potential and make travelling between these historic Northern towns and cities quicker, easier and greener.”
Once the TransPennine Route Upgrade is completed, journey times between the major cities of Manchester and Leeds will be slashed from 50 to 42 minutes, with up to six fast services every hour, while journey times from Manchester to York will be reduced by ten minutes.
The City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements are already supporting major transport schemes in city regions across England, including the Wednesbury Brierly Hill Metro expansion in the West Midlands and the renewal of the Sheffield Supertram.
Image credit: UK Government and iStock
