‘Rail revolution’ still years away

A Northern rail revolution promised by Labour days before Gordon Brown decided against a snap general election will not now start until 2014.

Transport experts from across the country gathered in Manchester this week and demanded progress on the Manchester hub, which could give a £15 billion boost to the North by freeing up overcrowded rail routes.

In October, 2007, the then transport minister Rosie Winterton visited Manchester’s Piccadilly Station to announce that the government had ordered a feasibility study into improving lines around the city.

The work would enable more and faster trains to operate across the North, particularly key services between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.

And the increased capacity would allow faster and more direct services to Manchester Airport, and more freight traffic to connect with Northern ports.

Ms Winterton denied that the announcement had anything to do with speculation that a general election was about to be called — and unfavourable opinion poll results the following weekend led Labour to abandon plans to go to the country.

The study was then split into two halves. The first was completed this week by the Northern Way group of North-West, Yorkshire, and North-East regional development agencies and concluded that the work could enhance the economy of the North by between £12-£15 billion.

Network Rail will now look at the proposals from an engineering point of view and publish its own report. But a Network Rail spokesman said: “We will have a report ready by the end of the year but in terms of anything happening, nothing can start before April, 2014. We just don’t have the funds.”

The Office of the Rail Regulator announced last October that it would allow Network Rail to spend £7.6 billion on a package of improvements over the next five years which will include work in London, Reading, Birmingham Cardiff, Glasgow, the Midland Main Line and the East Coast Main Line.

Ministers have regularly told campaigners that the North-West has already had its share of spending, with £8 billion West Coast Main Line upgrade.

But at a conference at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, speakers lined up to demand an early start.

Councillor Keith Whitmore, vice-chairman of Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority, said the Manchester hub “is without doubt the greatest single strategic transport issue for the economic future of the whole of the North of England”.

He added: “There is no doubt that we have seen a genuine renaissance on the railway but if we are to exploit it to its full potential, we have to allow it to grow with the economy.”

Manchester Airport managing director Andrew Cornish said: “Without decent surface access, growing capacity is going to be a problem. Rail has been a major success story for us. Trans-Pennine Express and Northern carry two million passengers a year to and from the airport — which is more than many of our airlines.

“Sorting out the Manchester Hub is vital. What we are saying is, let’s stop studying it and let’s just sort something out.”

Richard Davies of the Association of Train Operating Companies said: “The approaches to Manchester Piccadilly are absolutely key to the whole rail network — not just the approaches to the city of Manchester but the effect of the development of the Trans-Pennine route.”

Roger Jones, director of the North-West Rail campaign said: “It is totally unacceptable to do nothing until 2014.

“This scheme is so important to so many places that we should be starting the work in 2010. I have met with the rail minister Lord Adonis and he understands our point.”