The UK government is to spend an extra £3.9 billion to improve rail services in northern England, including “faster, more frequent and reliable” journeys on the Transpennine route between Manchester and York.
The announcement comes after the government was heavily criticised by the business travel industry in October for deciding to axe the planned HS2 link between Birmingham and Manchester.
Rail minister Huw Merriman announced the extra funding for the existing £3 billion Transpennine Route Upgrade project on Monday (4 December).
The work, which will now be “accelerated” thanks to the additional cash, includes full electrification of the line between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York, plus more frequent services and accessible stations on the route.
“The Transpennine Route Upgrade represents the first major step in delivering transformed east-west connectivity in the north and I’m delighted to announce this multi-billion-pound funding boost to move to the next stage of delivery,” said Merriman.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates this government’s commitment to delivering its Network North plan which will improve journeys, help to level up regions and grow the economy.”
The work is expected to be completed in the mid-2030s and increase services on the Transpennine route up to eight trains per hour, as well as providing “hundreds” of extra seats and reducing journey times between Manchester and York by 10 minutes.