The Interim Chair of Transport for the North, Cllr Louise Gittins, has replied to the Government\u2019s announcement on the Integrated Rail Plan.<\/p>\n
She stated: \u201cToday\u2019s announcement is woefully inadequate. After decades of underfunding, the rail network in the North is not fit for purpose. It is largely twin-track Victorian infrastructure trying to cope with the demands of a 21st Century economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeaders from across the North and from across the party-political divide came together to ask for a network that would upgrade the North for this century and in line with the rest of the country. Our statutory advice asked for an over \u00a340 billion network but the Government has decided to provide even less than half of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cllr Gittins added: \u201cThe leaders of the North, jointly with Government, have worked hard to come up with an evidence-led plan to help reverse the chasm of underinvestment over the last four decades to give passengers in the North a railway network fit for today and for generations to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean a bit here and a bit thereof minor upgrades to the existing network. It means transformational change for the whole rail network. That means building HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail in full. That means good east-west connections, improved reliability, and a better customer experience to bring about a modal shift to meet our decarbonization strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also asserted: \u201cWhilst we have been working on our upgrade plans, we have watched as billions have been poured into HS2 building work from London to Birmingham. We have watched as billions have been poured into Crossrail being dug out and built across the capital. It is time for the North to have its fair share. It\u2019s time for the North to have a proper railway network to allow our towns and cities, our businesses, and our people to thrive and grow for generations to come. It\u2019s time for real evidence of leveling-up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we truly want to level up the country we don\u2019t need words and promises. We need commitment. We need investment. We need Government to make good its pledge to the North and to deliver funding so we can deliver value back into UK PLC.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be studying today\u2019s Integrated Rail Plan announcement closely and will consult with our TfN Board before giving our considered response,\u201d continued Gittins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Interim Chair of Transport for the North, Cllr Louise Gittins, has replied to the Government\u2019s announcement on the Integrated Rail Plan. She stated: \u201cToday\u2019s announcement is woefully inadequate. After decades of underfunding, the rail network in the North is not fit for purpose. It is largely twin-track Victorian infrastructure trying to cope with the demands of a 21st Century economy. \u201cLeaders from across the North and from across the party-political divide came together to ask for a network that would upgrade the North for this century and in line with the rest of the country. Our statutory advice asked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,43],"tags":[1232,1233],"class_list":["post-5337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-project-show-case","tag-integrated-rail-plan","tag-transport-for-the-north","post--single"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}