Network North full of rail projects that have 'not been developed'

Lord Peter Hendy, Chair of Network Rail, said there are “a whole swathe of projects we have not developed” as the government “told us not to because it wasn’t their priority”, when he addressed MPs on Parliament’s Transport Committee.

He also said producing a “significantly different” set up proposals two years after the Integrated Rail Plan was published was “not a very efficient way of doing business”.

Network North, announced in October after the government scaled back HS2, promises £19.8bn for hundreds of rail, road and bus upgrades across the region.

It stated that £3bn will be spent on upgrading and electrifying lines between Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Hull, and another £2bn will be provided for a new station and line in Bradford.

But critics claim an established plan for a high-speed railway has been replaced with a series of vague plans for projects which are awaiting funding and approval.

Lord Hendy called for a clear long-term railway strategy – similar to the London Plan – which will set out a “prioritised list” of projects that need to be delivered by successive governments over the following decades.

He told MPs it would provide the private sector with the certainty it needs to invest in major projects like HS2.

“HS2 itself hasn't got a penny of private money and we should think that's a disgrace,” Lord Hendy said.

“At least with Crossrail, however difficult it was to deliver, it did have some elements of private funding in it because it was well known that it was a project to be funded.

“It was in fact only the private sector that got it over the line.”

After HS2 was scaled back, the project is now due to deliver a 134-mile line linking London and Birmingham. It is due to open by 2033 and cost between £49bn and £57bn (at 2019 prices).

However, the government has said the line is not expected to reach London Euston as originally planned without private sector investment.

The Department for Transport has said it will begin selling off land bought to pave the way for phase 2a (Birmingham to Crewe) within “weeks”.

Land safeguarded for phase 2b, which was originally due to connect Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds, is due to be released next summer.

However, Transport for the North is urging the government to keep the land earmarked for the high-speed line until there are “alternative proposals” to improve rail connections between the North and the Midlands in place.

It comes as the government is being urged to set out a clear plan and timeline for Northern Powerhouse Rail, after promising a multi-billion pound network consisting of new high-speed lines and a series of upgrades.

Back in 2021, it refused to deliver Transport for the North’s £43bn plan for NPR, which included high-speed lines running between Liverpool and Leeds, via Manchester and Bradford.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “With the savings from HS2, the Government is putting billions of pounds into new schemes which will transform connections around the country and boost growth.

“Network North is funding vital rail projects in the North and Midlands, including the expansion of Northern Powerhouse Rail, and progress is already being made to deliver these such as the recently announced funding to kickstart master planning for a new Bradford station.

“We continue to work closely with Network Rail on plans to deliver the schemes to provide the industry with greater certainty.”