GOVERNMENT PLEDGES ALMOST £4BN TO IMPROVE RAIL LINKS IN NORTHERN ENGLAND – Plans are to bring faster and more frequent journeys
Railways in northern England will get a £4bn boost to bring faster and more frequent journeys, the government has announced.
The government has pledged £3.9bn to accelerate the Transpennine Route Upgrade between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, and York.
It has already invested £3bn into the project, which is expected to deliver electrified tracks by the middle of the decade.
The announcement comes after the planned HS2 route between Birmingham and Manchester was axed in October.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the move by promising to reallocate the money to other transport schemes, including the Network North project to join up northern cities by rail and a Midlands Rail Hub to connect 50 stations.
The funding will be invested in doubling the number of tracks from two to four between Huddersfield and Ravensthorpe, allowing faster trains to overtake slower stopping services and freight trains.
