{"id":284611,"date":"2025-09-15T19:32:38","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T09:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=182627"},"modified":"2025-09-15T19:32:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T09:32:38","slug":"yorkshire-mayors-renew-calls-for-northern-railway-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=284611","title":{"rendered":"Yorkshire Mayors renew calls for Northern railway revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Three Yorkshire mayors have renewed calls for the government to back a new railway revolution for the North ahead of the Railway’s 200th anniversary celebrations later this month.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year Lord Blunkett led a review of the region\u2019s rail connectivity and helped launch a \u00a314 billion long-term plan that called for investment in newer trains, major stations and upgraded lines, to increase capacity, frequency and speed on a number of key routes.<\/p>\n

His report set out the urgent need for funding to overhaul creaking Victorian infrastructure. He said this would unleash the region’s full potential and provide a huge boost to the country\u2019s economy by delivering jobs, growth, and new housing. The review also called for faster and more frequent connections to the rest of the North, building on the current Transpennine Route Upgrade.<\/p>\n

This week, South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin,\u00a0and York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith, representing a combined population of 4.6 million and 190,000 businesses, joined Lord Blunkett to urge the case ahead of a government decision on rail infrastructure funding expected later this month.<\/p>\n

They are making the call for a new rail revolution for the North exactly two weeks before the country celebrates the 200th anniversary of the modern railway, and as the Mayors prepare to meet other Northern leaders in Darlington to discuss transport issues on Monday 15th September.<\/p>\n

South Yorkshire\u2019s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: \u201cFor too long, we haven\u2019t had the investment we need when it comes to our railways. Sheffield station will be at capacity from December, yet it remains the largest city in the UK without electrified rail. That means our communities are still relying on outdated diesel trains that are less comfortable, break down more often, and add to the clean air challenges we face in the city centre.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd while Sheffield and Leeds are less than 30 miles apart, we currently have only one fast train an hour connecting those two great cities of the north. That\u2019s not just inconvenient, it\u2019s holding us back. Delivering four fast trains an hour as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail would unlock over a million extra journeys a year, boosting jobs, growth, and opportunity across the whole of Yorkshire.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need stations that are fit for the future, and infrastructure that matches the ambition of our people. Because it isn\u2019t just about trains, it\u2019s about getting Yorkshire back on track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, added: \u201cPeople in Yorkshire deserve better than the creaking, unreliable network that we currently have, which is why we\u2019re calling on government to back our ambitious vision for a railway that works for everyone, from communities to businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo fully deliver our growth ambitions we must solve debilitating capacity and connectivity issues. We need investment in Leeds station, electrification for Sheffield to Leeds and a new through station in Bradford city centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cA reliable rail network that passengers can actually rely on is a vital part of our plans for a greener, better-connected, modern region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yorkshire\u2019s Plan for Rail was launched in May at a special event in Leeds attended by councillors, industry figures, and representatives from passenger groups.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The report set out a credible and affordable package of investment in new and accessible stations, more modern rolling stock, improved services in the short term, upgrades to unlock capacity at key stations, the development of strategic schemes to transform connectivity between the North\u2019s major centres in the long term and increased powers as part of the devolution agenda to drive change.  <\/p>\n

It focuses on the need to deliver faster, more frequent and reliable train services by increasing capacity at Leeds, Sheffield and York stations, building a new city centre through-station for Bradford and a mainline station at Rotherham, carrying out upgrades and electrification between Leeds and Sheffield, and increasing the frequency of services for places such as Scarborough, the Esk Valley, Penistone Line and Wakefield district’s Five Towns.<\/p>\n

David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, commented: \u201cAfter years of neglect to Yorkshire\u2019s railways, the Government must take this opportunity to help us deliver the accessible, reliable, and affordable rail services that our regions need and deserve.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoor rail connections are holding us back. Just one train an hour between Scarborough and York is a huge barrier for people living in our coastal communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recent announcement of a new station at Haxby is a welcome start, but we must keep the momentum up, with more trains and station improvements between York and the coast, and increased capacity at Northallerton, that will better connect communities across Yorkshire, the North and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re ready to make it happen and start bringing the benefits of a properly integrated rail network to our residents, visitors, and the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In June\u2019s Spending Review, the Chancellor announced government\u2019s plans to take forward its ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail and a decision on funding is expected in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Since then the government has given the go ahead for two proposals in the plan for rail: a new station at Haxby and upgrades to the Penistone Line between Huddersfield and Sheffield.<\/p>\n

The review has also received the backing of prominent business leaders in an open letter to the Chancellor, including CEOs and directors at Magtec, Stephen Joseph Theatre, and Leeds United Football Club.<\/p>\n

The review of rail connectivity follows the signing of the White Rose Agreement by the three Mayors to champion Yorkshire and work together across key areas where they share mutual priorities, from achieving good growth to keeping their communities safe.<\/p>\n

Image credit: iStockphoto.com\/TeamJackson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Three Yorkshire mayors have renewed calls for the government to back a new railway revolution for the North ahead of the Railway\u2019s 200th anniversary celebrations later this month. Earlier this year Lord Blunkett led a review of the region\u2019s rail connectivity and helped launch a \u00a314 billion long-term plan that called for investment in newer [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[343,47,16092,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-284611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-infrastructure","category-rail-news","category-stations","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=284611"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":284704,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284611\/revisions\/284704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=284611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=284611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=284611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}