Government pledges almost £4bn to improve rail links in northern England

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1 year ago

December 4, 2023

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Railways in northern England will get a £4bn boost to bring faster and more frequent journeys, the government has announced.

The government has pledged £3.9bn to accelerate the Transpennine Route Upgrade between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, and York.

It has already invested £3bn into the project, which is expected to deliver electrified tracks by the middle of the decade.

The announcement comes after the planned HS2 route between Birmingham and Manchester was axed in October.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the move by promising to reallocate the money to other transport schemes, including the Network North project to join up northern cities by rail and a Midlands Rail Hub to connect 50 stations.

Rail Minister Huw Merriman said: “The Transpennine Route Upgrade represents the first major step in delivering transformed east-west connectivity in the north and I’m delighted to announce this multibillion-pound funding boost to move to the next stage of delivery.

“Today’s announcement demonstrates this government’s commitment to delivering its Network North plan which will improve journeys, help to level up regions and grow the economy.”

The funding will be invested in doubling the number of tracks from two to four between Huddersfield and Ravensthorpe, allowing faster trains to overtake slower stopping services and freight trains.

The project is due to be completed in the mid-2030s, by which point there will be up to eight trains an hour, with hundreds of extra seats and the journey time between Manchester and York cut by 10 minutes, the government said.

The investment will also support digital signalling along the route to allow trains to run closer together, leading to more frequent and reliable services.

Neil Holm, managing director for the Transpennine Route Upgrade, said: “Transpennine Route Upgrade is well under way with building the infrastructure that brings passengers more frequent, faster, greener trains, that run on a better, cleaner and more reliable railway for generations to come.

“This commitment by the government to our programme allows us to move two of our largest projects from design into construction and delivery.”

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January 11, 2025

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Politics

Kemi Badenoch calls on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq over property allegations

Published

3 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Kemi Badenoch calls on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq over property allegations

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.

It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.

He told the Sunday Times the properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.

Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.

“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.

“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”

Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.

Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.

Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.

As economic secretary to the Treasury, Ms Siddiq is responsible for policy on both the City and tackling corruption.

She referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog on Monday following the reports about the properties.

On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.

“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”