Plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail have finally been unveiled – including confirmation of a new route linking Liverpool and Manchester.
The Government has released its phased investment plan for the scheme, which will initially focus on connections between Leeds, York, Bradford and Sheffield.
The second stage is the Manchester-Liverpool line, before a third phase aims to strengthen links between Manchester and Yorkshire cities.
Ministers say the programme will transform travel across the region, while shorter journey times have been billed as a way to attract investment across the north to a tune of £40billion.
The initiative has been labelled a “transformation” of northern transport after years of delayed infrastructure promises.
The Prime Minister said the pattern of “paying lip service to the potential of the North” must come to an end.
“This Government is rolling up its sleeves to deliver real, lasting change,” he added.
Previous administrations have made similar pledges to boost northern infrastructure.
Plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail have finally been unveiled
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George Osborne launched the Northern Powerhouse concept in 2014 as Chancellor, while Boris Johnson later campaigned on his “levelling up” agenda.
But both Tory initiatives saw promised rail investments reduced over time.
The current plans will form part of a broader Northern Growth Strategy due in spring.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said the business case to re-open the Leamside line in the North East would also be explored under the scheme.
But Labour has neither announced a firm budget nor committed specific funds beyond 2029 aside from a initial £1.1billion for design and preparation.
George Osborne launched the Northern Powerhouse concept in 2014 as Chancellor
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A cap of £45billion has been set on central funding – though the DfT said local authorities could top this up.
“For too long, the North has been held back by underinvestment and years of dither and delay,” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.
“This new era of investment will not just speed up journeys, it will mean new jobs and homes for people, making a real difference to millions of lives.”
The DfT also said it had learned its lessons from years of HS2 chaos and delay. The high-speed line is over-budget, behind schedule and has been radically reduced in scale compared to its plans.
It had been planned as a Y-shaped line from London which split in Birmingham with two termini at Manchester and Leeds.
It will now halt at Birmingham.
PICTURED: The HS2 Curzon No2 Viaduct in Birmingham – which was meant to be the mid-point of the high-speed line
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If and when Northern Powerhouse is finished, the Government said it was pushing to build a new rail link between Birmingham and Manchester, but it is unclear whether this would be high-speed.
The Conservatives said Labour had “watered down” the scheme – saying ministers had “put back any plans to actually deliver it and rewritten timetables on the fly”.
Shadow Rail Minister Jerome Mayhew raged: “Labour lurch from review to review, deadline to deadline, with no grip on costs, no clarity on scope and no courage to make decisions.
“Northern Powerhouse Rail could have been transformational, empowering regional growth and regeneration.
“Under Labour it risks becoming a permanent mirage that is endlessly redesigned, downgraded and never delivered.”