Oral statement to Parliament by the Transport Secretary: Delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail

Transport Secretary outlines a multi-billion-pound drive to transform rail and growth in the North of England.

"Mr Speaker, I'd like to make a statement on the government's plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR).

I realise I'm not the first minister ever to talk about transforming infrastructure in the North of England. 

I get why people there are sick to the back teeth of Westminster politicians promising the earth and delivering absolutely nothing.

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It's been over a decade since the then [political content removed] Chancellor pledged a transport system fit for a Northern Powerhouse. And what came of it? 

HS2 to Manchester and Leeds – both promised, both axed.  

Rail services that have let down commuters.

And a railway still reliant on diesel trains and two-track Victorian infrastructure. 

Levelling up. The Integrated Rail Plan. Network North.

Just empty slogans and even emptier pockets to pay for them. 

Political choices

Mr Speaker, this gulf between rhetoric and reality has consequences.

An unbalanced economy doesn't just affect growth. It strikes at the heart of the fairer country we want to be.

Political choices, over decades now, mean a 40-mile commute into Manchester is a world away from a similar journey into London. 

Take Liverpool, which has only 2 fast trains an hour to Manchester. Where a direct rail journey to Manchester Airport takes an hour and 25 minutes, when it's only 28 miles away. 

Or take Leeds.

Still the largest city in Western Europe without mass transit, with only a third of the population able to reach the city centre in 30 minutes.

Mr Speaker, we are finally consigning this sorry political legacy to the bonfire of history. 

No previous government has acted as swiftly and decisively to back Northern leaders. 

We've made the largest ever investment into local transport.  

We've given the go-ahead to road and rail projects across the North.

And we're allocating billions of pounds in pothole funding to local leaders across this parliament.  

Northern Powerhouse Rail

And today, Mr Speaker, we're going further. 

After years of underinvestment in the North's rail network, I am proud to announce we will deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail. 

This is a generational commitment.

Building on the ongoing Transpennine Route Upgrade, we will invest up to a further £45 billion to create a turn-up-and-go railway along the Northern Growth Corridor of Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield – as well as York. 

There will be regular services onward to Newcastle and Hull and to Chester for connections to North Wales.  

Make no mistake: NPR will transform how people travel.

We'll end the hour-long waits if you miss your train. 

We'll attract more people to a railway that will be faster, more accessible and more frequent than ever before. 

For Northerners who have long complained about being treated as ‘second-class citizens', my message is simple: those days are over. 

Lessons learnt

Mr Speaker, this is an ambitious long-term programme.

But it is not HS2 reheated.

I stood in this House last year and said we'd learn the lessons of that infrastructure project. And I meant it. 

Unlike previous government's Network North plan, which was announced without so much as a phone call to the mayors – we have been working directly with them on developing the proposals. 

And I'm proud to announce every single one of those Mayors is backing the plan today.

I'm clear that NPR will not be a central government vanity project. 

It will be rooted in northern communities – designed, developed and delivered from the bottom up.

We'll also take the time to get this right. 

That starts with agreeing mature, stable designs as well as consents – all before construction. 

Finally, unlike HS2, this isn't about the fastest line at any cost. 

Northern Powerhouse Rail will be the shoulders of this nation's rail network - improving services across the north and beyond.

Delivery

Let me now turn to delivery, Mr Speaker.

We are making £1.1 billion available to develop NPR over the next 4 years. 

This will proceed in 3 phases– sequenced so passengers experience a better railway as soon as possible.

The First Phase will prioritise electrification and upgrades East of the Pennines for delivery in the 2030s. 

That covers the Leeds-Bradford, Sheffield-Leeds and Leeds-York corridors, including the stations.  

Alongside NPR, we'll develop the business case for the Leamside Line, as part of our broader plans for the North. 

And I want to pay tribute to the Honourable Member for Washington and Gateshead South, who has been campaigning on this for over 20 years.

Mr Speaker, Phase One's benefits will be clear. 

It means pressing forward with plans for a new station in Bradford, with funding secured to take it forward, subject to business case. 

And it means working with local leaders on a redesigned York station masterplan.

Mr Speaker, I'd like to recognise the work carried out by Lord Blunkett in his Yorkshire Plan for Rail. 

It was his vision - endorsed by the White Rose Mayors - which informed our plans for Phase One. And I'm proud that Lord Blunkett is backing our plans today. 

Work also starts now for the Second Phase - West of the Pennines – with major construction planned for the 2030s. 

It includes a new route and predominantly new line between Liverpool and Manchester. 

This will run via new stations – improving access to Manchester Airport from across the North and North Wales, and to Warrington Bank Quay, with plans to deliver thousands of new homes. 

I have today instructed my officials to immediately resume work on the adapted hybrid Bill, so we can reach planning consent for the parts of the route in Manchester. 

These plans align with the prospectus of the Liverpool-Manchester Railway Board and I'd like to thank all of them, including the chair of that board, the former Rail Minister Huw Merriman, who is also backing our plans today.

Mr. Speaker, the Third Phase, which takes us to the 2040s, will improve connectivity across the Pennines over and above the Transpennine Route Upgrade currently underway. 

And I see Bradford to Manchester, Leeds to Manchester, and Sheffield to Manchester as key routes we will upgrade. 

Mr Speaker, if we are to secure Britain's long term growth, we must also recognise future capacity and connectivity is needed along other major routes – such as the West Coast Main Line – and ensure that this is reflected in our decision making now.  

I can therefore confirm this government's long-term aim to see a full new north-south line from Birmingham to Manchester.

That's one of the reasons why we have chosen the Liverpool to Manchester route, as put forward by local mayors, because it's the only route that properly preserves our ability to ultimately build a new line south to address longer-term congestion and crowding challenges on the West Coast Main Line.

Again, this won't be a revival of HS2 and no decisions have been taken on the specification or timetable.

In the meantime, we'll retain land the government has already purchased between the West Midlands and Crewe.

This will be an incremental programme of change and delivery will be taken forward after NPR has been built. 

Nevertheless, I believe laying out now our strategy is sensible, responsible and in the long term interests of the country. 

Conclusion

Mr Speaker, today we're announcing a second rail revolution in the very region that gave us the first. The North powered Britain's past. It can lead this country's future. 

This plan is a downpayment on the North's potential. 

Part of a broader growth drive to lift the region's productivity, boost living standards, and add tens of billions to the UK economy. 

At the heart of this lies connectivity. 

Because only by strengthening the links between our northern cities, only by bringing the pools of talent there closer together, can the region begin to rival the other major growth corridors in Europe. 

Mr Speaker, too many Northerners still face the choice of either staying at home and putting aspiration on hold, or moving away in search of a better future. 

I say no more unfair choices. 

No more missed opportunities.  

Today, we start delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail.

And I commend this statement to the house."