‘We won’t be ignored’: Council seeks Govt meeting over city’s exclusion from £45bn rail plans

‘THE IMPORTANCE OF RAIL ELECTRIFICATION CANNOT BE OVERSTATED’: Councillor Mike Ross, pictured at the Department for Transport

By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor

Hull City Council leader Mike Ross has written to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander MP seeking an urgent meeting to discuss how rail electrification to Hull can be included as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR).

The Labour Government announced last week that £1.1bn was to be made available for the design and preparation of the scheme and committed up to £45bn for its delivery.

But there was dismay in the city as Hull was excluded from the plans, despite more than a decade of campaigning by MPs and business leaders for the electrification of the line between Hull and Selby, seen as vital for the region’s economy.

After the announcement, Hull’s three Labour MPs issued a joint statement saying they “still believe that there is a strong economic case for upgrading the rail link from the Humber ports”.

They also noted that the recent Hull and East Yorkshire devolution deal committed to electrifying and improving the line speed between Hull and Leeds and Hull and Sheffield.

The council says the situation was compounded further by other mayoral areas in the North receiving significant funding for their local transport priorities as part of the Spending Review.

In his letter, Councillor Ross expressed his “severe disappointment and frustration” with the announcement and said a previous letter on the issue, sent in November last year, received no reply.

He also requested an urgent meeting be organised between the city council, East Riding Council and the newly created Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority, along with representatives from the Department for Transport, the Treasury and the local business community, to discuss how, despite the omission, electrification of the Hull line can be included in the programme, as the Government committed to last year.

He said there was cross-party support for the approach at a city council meeting last week.

“Hull and East Yorkshire are vital parts of the north,” said Councillor Ross.

“The Humber is our country’s most important trading gateway to Europe, carrying over 20 per cent of UK trade, but, inexplicably, successive Governments have continually failed to define the economic corridor of the North beyond that of Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.

“We sincerely hoped that the Government finally understood the economic significance of the east side of the Pennines, especially as we had agreement in our devolution deal that electrification be included as part of NPR.

“As it stands, the Government’s announcement has dashed our hopes and expectations for this much needed and overdue infrastructure investment.

“The importance of rail electrification cannot be overstated. It would be a huge step to improving connectivity to Hull and would enhance rail services, improve reliability and energy efficiency, reduce operating costs and lower emissions.

“Our city and region are simply not prepared to be ignored.

“Hull deserves to be treated on a par with other cities across the North of England and we will be making the case for this to the Government.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted Hull would benefit from NPR as announced as “the journey as a whole will be better”.