A meeting of Transport for the North’s Rail North Committee on 10 June in Bradford, England, heard that government plans for railway reform offered a huge chance to align the railway to local priorities, such as housing, and to simplify ticketing.
Politicians in the North are to draw up a blueprint for how rail services in the region can be improved and an accessible, reliable and modern railway system put in place. The plans would be put in place to make sure ambitions would be turned into realities with Transport for the North helping to shape decisions for the region’s railways.
The move comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce more funding to improve the North’s creaking transport infrastructure. The Spending Review will build on the announcement of EUR 18.5 billion of investment in light rail systems in Northern cities. This is to be followed by a 10-year national infrastructure investment plan.
“This shows that we are serious about taking greater control over our own rail services. For too long decisions have been taken about services and investment by people who don’t live in the North and don’t use its transport system,” the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said.
The region will benefit from a GBP 2 billion investment from the Government for a new mass transit system in West Yorkshire with “spades in the ground” by 2028, extending Greater Manchester’s tram system, bringing the Metro Link to Washington in the North East, and renewing South Yorkshire’s Supertram. New rapid bus routes for the Liverpool city region and new bus stations in Wakefield and Bradford were also announced.
Hundreds of new trains are to be bought for the North’s rail network to update the aging fleets currently being used. Northern is to buy 450 trains, which will replace two thirds of its existing fleet over the next ten years, while TransPennine will buy a further 29.
During the meeting it was analised the good performance TransPennine recorded since entering public ownership. The company saw cancellations in March drop to just 2% and saw 12% year-on-year passenger growth. The firm was brought into public control two years ago due to its poor performance.
In the 2024 King’s Speech, the government set out its plan to introduce a Railways bill which would create Great British Railways, a single public body which would bring together management of most passenger trains services and railway infrastructure.
In February 2025, the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, launched the public consultation for the government’s upcoming Railways Bill which sets out proposals for the most comprehensive railway reform in Britain.
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