Northern leaders claim they 'can’t continue to wait' for Government transport plan

Northern leaders claim they cannot press ahead with Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) and other ambitious transport projects until the Government publishes a long-awaited plan which sets out how the schemes can be integrated.

At a Transport for the North (TfN) meeting yesterday they renewed calls for the Government to release the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) for the Midlands and the North, which was originally expected last year but then delayed until after the local elections.

TfN is unable to submit a business case for NPR, which promises to upgrade rail infrastructure and deliver new rail lines across the north, until the plan is published and Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said she cannot secure funding for a mass transit system in the region or deliver other transport projects outlined in her election manifesto until she sees the plan.

“We can’t continue to wait like this. It feels that we’ve been strung along,” she said.

“What can we do to try and make our case to Government that this is holding us all back, and also the levelling up agenda?”

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said the “ridiculous” delay was holding back a major upgrade which aims to improve long-standing problems with congestion on the railways in central Manchester.

“We will not be able to judge whether the infrastructure proposals are right until we see the IRP and how it all links together,” he said.