Meeting the north's needs

February 24th 2010

A £530 million investment package to transform rail travel in the north of England has been unveiled. Network Rail's study - The Northern Hub - identifies what needs to be done to respond to the significant growth seen in the region and to help drive economic prosperity. It includes 700 additional daily services and capacity for a further 3.5 million passengers annually as well as quicker, more frequent services between the north's key cities.

To deliver this, the bottleneck around Manchester would have to be resolved. Ordsall in Salford would be the site for a new section of railway, removing the need for Manchester Airport services to and from Yorkshire and the north-east to reverse at Piccadilly. Passing loops would be added on the lines linking Manchester with Leeds, Sheffield and Liverpool to increase their capacity. Also identified is the need to electrify the Midland Main Line south from Sheffield and a doubling of freight paths between the West Coast Main Line and Trafford Park.

The overall study has been carried out in two parts. Phase 1, led by the Northern Way - a partnership formed from three regional development agencies - identified the economic case for enhancements to the network around Manchester and across the north, together with improvements to services that would drive economic growth. This was known as the Manchester Hub study.

The latest report is Phase 2. Led by Network Rail, it identifies value-for-money interventions to address the gaps between the capability of the network in 2014 and what will be needed beyond then. Over the next two years, the company will work with the industry and stakeholders to develop the plan, and aims to win funding for the proposals for implementation from 2014.

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