Government pledges almost £4 billion to improve rail links in northern England
The £3.9 billion investment will accelerate the Transpennine Route upgrade between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, and York.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Government has pledged £3.9 billion for a rail project which will improve connectivity in northern England.
The cash injection will accelerate the Transpennine Route Upgrade between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, and York – which will bring faster and more frequent journeys, the Government said.
It has already invested £3 billion into the project which is expected to deliver electrified tracks by the middle of the decade.
The announcement comes after the planned HS2 route between Birmingham and Manchester was axed earlier this year.
In November, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he would “repurpose” the money for the proposed HS2 route to deliver mass transit in Leeds.
Rail Minister Huw Merriman said: “The Transpennine Route Upgrade represents the first major step in delivering transformed east-west connectivity in the north and I’m delighted to announce this multibillion-pound funding boost to move to the next stage of delivery.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates this Government’s commitment to delivering its Network North plan which will improve journeys, help to level up regions and grow the economy.”
The funding will be invested in doubling the number of tracks from two to four between Huddersfield and Ravensthorpe, allowing faster trains to overtake slower stopping services and freight journeys.
Once complete in the mid-2030s, the upgrade will offer up to eight trains per hour, hundreds of extra seats and cut journey times between Manchester and York by 10 minutes, the Government said.
The investment will also support digital signalling along the route to allow trains to run closer together, leading to more frequent and reliable services.
Neil Holm, managing director for the Transpennine Route Upgrade, said: “Transpennine Route Upgrade is well under way with building the infrastructure that bring passengers more frequent, faster, greener trains, that run on a better, cleaner and more reliable railway for generations to come.
“This commitment by the Government to our programme allows us to move two of our largest projects from design into construction and delivery.”