The British Government has announced a GBP 15.6 billion (EUR 18.5 billion) funding for city region local transport projects in England’s city regions, including South Yorkshire, the North East, the East Midlands and Tees Valley. The announcement made on June 4, 2025, comes ahead of next week’s Spending Review focused on investment in the Government’s priorities.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, more than doubles investment in local transport in England’s city regions, delivering the biggest ever investment over the next five years.
“We will be making the biggest ever investment by a British government in transport links within our city regions, and their surrounding towns. The GBP 15.6 billion in transport funding settlements, will be delivered by our regional mayors,” Rachel Reeves said.
The funding, a more than double real-terms increase in capital spending on local transport in city regions by 2029/30 compared with 2024/25, will empower local leaders to invest in transport projects that will make a difference to their local area.
With the “Government investment, we’re giving local leaders the means to drive cities, towns and communities forward, investing in Britain’s renewal so you and your family are better off,” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.
Working people across the North, the Midlands and the South West will benefit from the biggest ever investment in buses, trams and local train infrastructure in city regions.
This long-overdue investment outside of London and the South East will see projects like the Metro extension linking Washington to Newcastle and Sunderland and the renewal South Yorkshire’s tram network linking employment and housing areas in Sheffield and Rotherham get off the ground – creating jobs, better commutes, bigger labour markets and more opportunity.
This funding is in addition to the GBP 5.7 billion (EUR 6.8 billion) already allocated to eligible mayoral strategic authorities for years 2022-23 to 2026-27 via the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements.
Transport for City Regions (TCR) programme provides multi-year, consolidated funding settlements to enhance the local transport networks of some of England’s largest city regions, including investment in public and sustainable transport infrastructure.
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