‘IT’S THERE IN BLACK AND WHITE’: Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, left, with party Peer Lord McCobb
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has backed the campaign to make the Government keep its promise to electrify the railway line between Hull, Leeds and Sheffield.
In 2024, the Government signed a devolution deal for Hull and East Yorkshire that promised to bring the city into Northern Powerhouse Rail. This included a specific commitment to electrify the line and improve journey times. In January 2026, the Government left Hull out of its Northern Powerhouse Rail plans.
Sir Ed travelled to Hull on Saturday on a Hull Trains service from London, with Lib Dem Peer Lord McCobb joined him on board to brief him on the city’s long fight for faster, greener rail links.
Like every train to Hull, theirs travelled at higher speeds on the East Coast Main Line, then slowed as it switched from electric to diesel where the overhead wires end.
Sir Ed said: “The Government has broken its word to people in Hull and East Yorkshire. A commitment to increased speeds and an electrified line is there in black and white in the Devolution Deal.
“People in this part of Yorkshire have been let down on rail travel times by the Conservatives and now again by Labour.
“Travelling up to Hull, I saw for myself first-hand where the journey slows down. Hull and East Yorkshire deserve the same fast, modern rail links as everyone else, and the Liberal Democrats will keep fighting until ministers deliver.”
Since his introduction to the House of Lords in September, Lord McCobb has pressed ministers on the issue through a series of written questions. In response, ministers now point to battery trains on the existing track, not due until the 2030s, and say improvements to the Sheffield link will be considered only “in future years”.
Lord McCobb said: “I'm delighted Ed came to Hull and was able to see the case for himself. Making the journey together through East Yorkshire meant I could show him in person exactly what we're missing.
“Hull has been promised electrification again and again, and every time it has been put off. Back in 2013, Hull Trains even offered to pay for it, and the Conservative Government said no. Battery trains in the 2030s and one minute off travel time are not the electrification we were promised.
“With Ed’s backing, I’ll keep pressing ministers in Parliament until they keep their word.”
The Hull and East Yorkshire Devolution Deal, agreed with the Conservative Government in November 2023 and signed by the Labour Government in September 2024, said: “The Government will bring Hull into Northern Powerhouse Rail, electrifying and improving the line speed between Hull to Leeds and Hull to Sheffield.”
However, questions have been raised about whether this is legally binding.
It is thought Hull’s rail electrification might have been among transport projects that could have been funded from savings of £36bn achieved by the scrapping of the Northern leg of HS2, announced by then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the Conservative Party Conference in October 2023.
Sunak said “every single penny” would be invested in “hundreds” of new transport projects across the country.
But when later questioned about a list of projects that could be funded from HS2 money, Sunak told the BBC the list was only intended to be “illustrative”.
In September, the Department of Transport announced £1bn of investment in a new fleet of 29 battery-electric TransPennine Express trains due to enter service in winter 2034.