News that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to electrify rail links to Hull has been cautiously welcomed by the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce.
The news came as the PM announced the scrapping of the remaining northern leg of HS2 linking Birmingham to Manchester – a move which has drawn fierce criticism from the elected mayors in the North West.
In today’s announcement Rishi Sunak promised £3billion to upgrade and electrify lines between Hull and Leeds and Hull and Sheffield, as well as Sheffield and Leeds and Manchester and Sheffield.
The Chamber and several Humber MPs, along with our rail advisors, have campaigned long and hard for faster rail journeys across the Pennines to Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, so today’s announcement is to be welcomed.
Chamber External Affairs Director David Hooper said: “On the face of it, this announcement is good news for the Humber and it is the news we’ve lobbied for years to achieve. However, we all know there is an election looming, so we will feel much more excited about it when work actually begins on the promised electrification of the Hull to Selby stretch of line in particular.
“All we’ve got so far is the announcement, no hint of timescales, but if it comes to pass, it will cut journey times from Hull to Leeds and beyond which is something that has been holding back this area for years.
“I would add that today’s announcement does little to address the issues around freight traffic and congestion on the existing rail network – something HS2 would have helped to alleviate.
“We will be meeting with Rail Minister Huw Merriman in Westminster in a couple of weeks and will once again impress upon the latest Rail Minister the urgent need for him to deliver on these promises so the Humber can prosper.”
