An ambitious £70bn Strategic Transport Plan has been launched by Transport for the North (TfN) along with outlined proposals for improved east to west connectivity which could have huge economic benefits for the North of England. The draft 30-year plan would see connectivity improve massively between cities such as Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Hull.

The proposal would cost £2bn-£2.3bn a year from 2020 to 2050, which would be additional to the £700-900m currently spent within the region. The flagship ‘Northern Powerhouse Rail’ would see a network across the Pennines stretching from Liverpool to Hull with the draft proposal highlighting several new key things including:

  • New line between Liverpool and the HS2 Manchester spur via Warrington.
  • Increased capacity at Manchester Piccadilly for eight through trains per hour.
  • New line connecting Manchester and Leeds via Bradford.
  • Upgrades to the Hope Valley line between Sheffield and Manchester via Stockport.
  • Upgrades to the East Coast mainline.
  • Upgrades to the lines between Leeds and Hull via Selby.
  • Upgrades to the lines between Sheffield and Hull via Doncaster.

Tom Foster, Transport for the North’s Head of Economic Advice, said the network would be reliant on the HS2 Phase 2b which is set for completion in early 2030. He added: ”HS2 is fundamental to the Northern Powerhouse Rail network, there’s no point replicating or duplicating a lot of the HS2 infrastructure between Sheffield and Leeds for example.”

A strategic outline business case for the scheme will be completed by the end of the year with Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association, saying he ‘welcomed the proposals’ but that the ‘business case needs to develop so that we can start getting spades to the ground’.

The Trans-Pennine Tunnel, which is designed to address the road connectivity issues between Sheffield and Manchester, is another key project – which would see road improvements to the current road network instead of a long single tunnel under the Peak District that was recently scrapped. Foster said: ”We recognise that a full tunnel solution is almost certainly poor value for money and probably isn’t the right solution. But we’re getting pretty close to a better solution, using a partially tunnelled route that delivers the transport solutions we’re looking for, and we need to make the case to Government for alternative options.”

TfN, once it becomes a statutory body later this year, will not have the powers to borrow and raise revenue, however the Government will have to consider their recommendations – and with a ‘substantial’ part of funding expected to come from central Government, although they’ll be likely to explore significant opportunities to take advantage of private finance.

 

Civil Engineers Contracting Association (CECA) director of external affairs Marie-Claude Hemming said: “If the Government is to tackle the poor transport infrastructure, inadequate digital connectivity, and skills shortages that are shackling the potential economic power of the North of England, it must take a long-term strategic approach.

“Transport for the North’s strategic plan sets out such a vision by calling for sustained, prioritised investment in the region’s railways and roads over a thirty-year period that will transform the economy by improving the way both people and goods travel around the North of England.”

The project is likely to be a huge topic at our West Yorkshire Economic Growth Conference and the Greater Manchester Economic Growth Conference run later this year.

For other events around development plans, networking and regional economic growth click here.