7 minute read
Watch what the North of England can do
Tim Wood, Director of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) at Transport for the North, on the need for NPR to come to fruition as soon as possible
The Government underlined its commitment to rebalance the British economy and level up investment spending in the North as part of November’s Spending Review, with more cash and a new strategy to kickstart the northern renaissance announced.
The review revealed a £4bn Levelling Up Fund and an intention to shift spending to the regions of the UK, with investment in the North, Midlands and South West helping to rebalance the UK economy. This comes alongside a restated commitment, in the accompanying National Infrastructure Strategy, to improve connectivity between northern cities.
The National Infrastructure Commission’s assessment of rail needs beyond the South of England was published last month, followed by the Integrated Rail Plan for the Midlands and the North of England. These two documents will ensure that Northern Powerhouse Rail, Phase 2b of HS2 and other planned rail investments in the North and Midlands are scoped and delivered in an integrated way. This will bring transformational rail improvements more quickly and to more places.
It will also make sure the benefits of investment are felt more quickly.
The National Infrastructure Strategy chimes with Transport for the North’s (TfN) priorities to close the economic divide, fast-track the delivery of strategic projects and slash carbon emissions as quickly as possible. There’s still a lot more detail to come before spades hit the ground on NPR but the sense, according to Tim Wood, Director of NPR at TfN, is that the planets are aligning at precisely the right time.
The NPR network will span from Liverpool to Hull and Sheffield to the North East. It will integrate fully with HS2, sharing track, stations and junctions.
NPR will use around 80km of HS2 track, which emphasises the importance of HS2 to both the eastern and western legs of NPR. Half of the routes will see new lines in Liverpool, Warrington Central, Manchester, and from Manchester to central Bradford and up to Leeds.
The rest of network is on Network Rail-owned infrastructure, with a series of major upgrades and interventions planned to increase capacity and reduce journey times.
A huge step was taken in November when TfN’s board voted for its initial preferred NPR network. That means the North was speaking clearly with one voice to say what was needed to allow the North to throw off the straitjacket of poor infrastructure. Route preferences have been outlined and sent the way of the Secretary of State for Transport ahead of the Integrated Rail Plan’s publication.
Phasing scenarios for NPR were also approved by members of the board in November while final agreement from the board regarding the NPR network will take place in February. TfN will then continue to work with the Department for Transport to jointly update the NPR’s strategic outline case ahead of submission in March. It will also work with the Government to look at ways in which a number of further options can be shortlisted and delivery accelerated to benefit the North’s communities and its future.
Biggest project for decades
Tim Wood said: “This is the biggest project planned in the north of England for decades. The development work continues at pace with big decisions being made and others fast approaching. The TfN board has agreed on an initial preferred way forward for the NPR network, one that will create thousands of jobs and provide a significant upturn in the region’s economy.
“The North is talking on this with one voice. Our board members are key civic leaders, metro mayors and members of the business community via Local Enterprise Partnerships, and they have all agreed on a rail future that requires funding and commitment for NPR, which is a critical part of the Government’s desire to level up the North and the rest of the country. We have some great people focused on bringing this to life and who want NPR to come to fruition as quickly as possible.”
TfN has been crystal clear regarding the importance of HS2 to the north, the need for the project to be delivered in full to ‘build back better’ and bridge the north-south chasm, and how vital it is for both HS2 and NPR to move at pace to provide the economic levelling up the nation needs. TfN also wants the Phase 2b eastern leg of HS2 to be built at the same time as the western leg.
If everything moves with the speed the NPR board hopes, spades will hit the ground ‘up north’ in 2024-25. Construction on NPR will commence on two new stations at Barnsley Dearne Valley and on the Rotherham Midland Main Line and the work associated with fully electrifying the Leeds-Hull route.
Tim added: “The next stages of development will see the NPR broken down into manageable projects, aligned to the preferred phasing scenarios and this will allow us to accelerate projects on the corridors. More widely, we’re looking to commence ground investigations on certain routes to gain a better understanding of the assumptions so far on the development work and we’re really progressing the development of the two new stations.”
Badly connected
Tim said: “An example I often use in terms of the need for NPR is that, if you go between Bradford and Leeds, which is only around eight miles, that journey takes nearly 30 minutes on a train. That is just not right in the 21st century. Bradford has a population of some 540,000 people and yet it is so badly connected it is not even on the mainline. Since the early 1960s to today we’ve lost half the railways in the north of England and that’s left us a twin track railway where fast intercity services are unable to overtake slower regional services and freight trains.”
Tim is keen to stress that NPR is an economic scheme; it’s not simply about speed. It’s primarily about opening up capacity, connectivity, then the speed and the opportunities for some mph running to follow.
“It is no good having trains rushing to the hubs if the hubs are not fit for purpose and are unable to cope with the volume of traffic,” he said. “So, we can’t forget about the stations, they are the real centres of activity and big economic drivers. The station is part of the offer, part of the town, part of a city region, and we need to get that right as well.
“Then these new stations will offer local businesses, people and the economy far greater access to a really good, strong public service offering. It is important that this project continues at pace to bring economic benefits as soon as possible to the people of the North.”
“The planets do seem to be aligning. The Government has demonstrated its commitment to rail and, with their concern for value for money, we’re focused on talking to the industry and engaging early with innovators to drive a far stronger value-for-money proposition.
“The Government will only see that come through in spades by giving continuity to the programme. Bringing new infrastructure as quickly as possible to the North will give us the economic bang that we so need up here. It’s a long-term proposition, as it is for people coming to work on the project.”
Tim is keen to stress that the benefits of NPR will be felt long before the first services start running and will be felt throughout the North’s economy.
“In construction alone NPR presents a fabulous opportunity, and this will mean tens of thousands of jobs,” he said. “Then there are all of the other developments and wider business opportunities that will materialise as a result of this connectivity.
“It is exciting to be a part of this opportunity and work with some fantastic people, drive value for money and to make sure the North of England and its people really see an economic transformation and a world class service, finally. The investment in NPR and HS2 will drive through the North’s potential. I’ll be out there on the first survey possession then when spades hit the ground on NPR in 2024. Then just watch what the North can do – this is where the railway story started back in 1830 with the first intercity passenger service between the great cities of Manchester and Liverpool.”
