Liz Truss has confirmed that her pledge to build Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) ‘in full’ means a full new line all the way from Liverpool to Hull with a stop in Bradford.
However, the prime minister did not set out a timetable for the move, stating only that details for the new route would be set out ‘in due course’.
During her campaign for the Conservative Party leadership, Ms Truss said she was ‘committed to building Northern Powerhouse Rail in full’.
In an interview with ITV Calendar on Sunday (2 October), she was asked whether her plan means ‘a full new line all the way from Liverpool to Hull with a stop in Bradford’.
She replied: ‘It does.’ She added: ‘It will stop at Bradford. I'm very clear about that.’
The Government’s Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) last November included a ‘core’ version of NPR priced at £17bn. The first phase of this core route would be an expanded version of the existing Transpennine Route Upgrade, costing £9bn and consisting mainly of upgrades and the electrification of existing track.
It said this could be done more quickly than the full £43bn network imagined by statutory sub-national transport body Transport for the North.
West Yorkshire metro mayor Tracy Brabin said the Government’s ‘latest U-turn’ was ‘good news for Bradford and West Yorkshire’, adding: ‘It’s something we have been calling for for a long time.’
She said: ‘We’ve heard the promises before from previous Governments but I look forward to working with Government to deliver it as soon as possible’.
The Calendar interview was one of a series that Ms Truss gave to regional media in which she insisted that her government would stick to its decision to abolish the 45% top rate of tax. By the time the interviews were released on Monday, that decision had been reversed.
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