The Government today (14 January 2026) released its plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail, promising that people across the North West, Yorkshire, and the North East will benefit from faster commutes, greater job opportunities, and increased investment.
The first phase will prioritise upgrades and electrification between Leeds-Sheffield, Leeds-York, and Leeds-Bradford to transform commutes, set to be delivered in the 2030s, and work on the business case for the Leamside Line will be taken forward, as part of ensuring NPR services reach Newcastle.
Over £11 million of local transport funding has now been agreed for South Yorkshire to develop a new Rotherham Gateway station, which spells an end to slow journeys to Leeds and support the ambitious regeneration plans for the town.
The North East will also benefit from regular services onwards to Newcastle via Darlington and Durham. This follows recent investment of £4 billion in the East Coast Mainline which has seen 60,000 extra seats weekly through the new timetable.
The plans also include a new rail route between Liverpool and Manchester, running via Manchester Airport and Warrington. The second phase will include three new stations at Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly, and Warrington Bank Quay Low Level along the route, with delivery starting in the 2030s.
Improvements to busy stations, Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool Central, are also being considered alongside the work the government is undertaking together with Liverpool City Region to look at options for a major regeneration scheme in the city centre.
“For too long, the North has been held back by underinvestment and years of dither and delay – but that ends now,” said Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.
“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 landmark upgrade is one of the central building blocks of a plan for the North – to be published in the spring. This will include plans for a northern growth corridor from Liverpool to York – which has the potential to be one of Europe’s great economic powerhouses. It will also include plans to make the most of economic opportunities right across the North, including in clean energy, defence and advanced manufacturing.
The NPR plans are in addition to the Transpennine route upgrade, which will cut journey times between York and Manchester and Manchester and Leeds, create over 5,000 jobs, and support the development of 6,500 new homes in the region.
A funding cap of £45 billion will be set for the programme, including £1.1 billion over the current Spending Review period allocated from existing budgets first. Learning lessons from HS2, the government has said it will work closely with local partners to ensure planning processes are carried out efficiently, and approvals are streamlined to reduce delays and prevent projects going over budget.
Image credit: iStockphoto.com/Eric Latham
