Rather than delivering HS2 Phase 2 new line between Birmingham and Manchester Prime Minister Rushi Sunak has promised to enhance the transport infrastructure across the whole country.
Communities in towns, cities and rural areas will see improved transport infrastructure far sooner through £19.8 billion reinvested in the North, including:
- £2 billion for a new station at Bradford and a new connection to Manchester;
- £2.5 billion to deliver a new mass transit system in West Yorkshire;
- £3 billion for upgraded and electrified lines between Manchester and Sheffield, Sheffield and Leeds, Sheffield and Hull, and Hull-Leeds.
- Nearly £4 billion more funding for local transport in the North’s six city regions.
- A new £2.5 billion fund for local transport across all areas in the North outside the six city regions – smaller cities, counties, towns and countryside.
- A new £3.3 billion fund for road resurfacing.
- Landmark investments in roads, reopened train lines and new stations
Cornerstone of the new plans is Network North, which it’s claimed will drive better connectivity across the North and Midlands with faster journey times, increased capacity and more frequent, reliable services across rail, buses and roads. £36 billion will be invested in hundreds of transport projects across the country – with every region set to receive the same or more transport investment on an unprecedented scale as a result of the change. A further £12 billion on top of this figure will be set aside for faster connectivity between Liverpool and Manchester.
This represents a fundamental shift in investment towards the people’s transport priorities, consistent with the Prime Minister’s pledge to grow the economy while ensuring value for money and demonstrating responsibility with taxpayers’ money.
More than four million people in cities in the North cannot currently reach their city centre by public transport within half an hour, which is detrimental to productivity and economic growth. And rail accounts for just 8 per cent of distances travelled and 2 per cent of all journeys.
Yet the HS2 project currently accounts for over one-third of all Government’s transport investments, preventing the Government from spending on people’s genuine priorities and doing little to improve the journeys that people make the most.
