‘No more broken promises’: MP Karl Turner calls for Hull to Selby rail electrification

‘KEY STRATEGIC LINK’: Karl Turner MP

By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor

Karl Turner MP has called on the Government to commit to the long-awaited rail electrification between Hull and Selby.

The 29-mile Hull to Selby line remains one of the few unelectrified stretches of key rail infrastructure in Northern England, despite years of campaigning by Hull and East Yorkshire MPs and the business community.

Now Turner, the Hull East Labour MP, has written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves saying investment in the upgrade was vital to the economic growth of the Humber region, and could be a flagship project for the Government’s agenda of national renewal.

Turner praised the Government’s recent Spending Review and its commitments to infrastructure, including the £3.5 billion boost to the TransPennine Route Upgrade and support for Northern Powerhouse Rail, but said “Hull and East Yorkshire have for far too long been overlooked” when it comes to major rail infrastructure investment.

“Despite the rhetoric of rebalancing the economy, the Northern Powerhouse and levelling up, the reality for our region has been one of underinvestment and broken promises,” Turner wrote.

He drew attention to the repeated failure of previous governments to electrify the Selby to Hull line, despite strong local support, private sector backing, and the strategic importance of the route as a connector between the east and west coasts.

Turner described the stretch as “a key strategic link” and “not a branch line,” arguing that full electrification is essential to decarbonisation, economic growth, and unlocking private investment in the Humber region.

Highlighting Hull’s transformation into the UK’s Energy Estuary since attracting Siemens in 2014, Turner pointed to the £15 billion in private sector capital currently poised for investment in green technologies in the region. He warned, however, that such opportunities cannot be realised without modern infrastructure.

“We cannot achieve the higher levels of national economic growth this Government rightly prioritises, nor meet our Net Zero obligations, without unleashing the economic power of the Humber,” Turner added.

The letter, which has been copied to senior ministers, local MPs, and business and civic leaders, calls for an early meeting with a transport minister and regional stakeholders to discuss how to move the Hull to Selby electrification forward.

Turner also wrote: “As chancellor, you recently urged Labour MPs to go out and sell the spending plans announced by the Government. In Hull, we are ready to do just that – but we need the substance to match the ambition. Alongside our other pro-growth policies, a clear commitment to Hull to Selby electrification in the forthcoming Northern Powerhouse Rail announcement would give us something real to champion to our constituents and to the region’s business leaders.

“On our watch, we can finally change the habit of past decades and be the builders – not the blockers – for a vital part of our nation.”

The letter has been sent to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, and cross-party MPs representing Hull and the wider Humber region.