A final report has been presented to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin which highlights 12 northern rail routes which should be electrified by 2024.
The Electrification Task Force has complied the report which identified 32 routes in total. It has presented the economic case for each and categorised them into three tiers depending on priority and compatibility with local planning.
Electrification, and the capacity and environmental benefits it brings, are central to the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ concept which has been pushed by the current Coalition Government.
Within the report, 12 routes were listed in the Tier One category which urges their inclusion in the High Level Output Statement for Control Period 6.
The routes include:
- Calder Valley (Full)
- Liverpool to Manchester via Warrington Central
- Southport/Kirkby to Salford Crescent
- Chester to Stockport
- Northallerton to Middlesbrough
- Leeds to York via Harrogate
- Selby to Hull
- Sheffield (Meadowhall) to Leeds via Barnsley / Castleford & connections
- Bolton to Clitheroe
- Sheffield to Doncaster/Wakefield Westgate (Dearne Valley)
- Hazel Grove to Buxton
- Warrington to Chester
MP Andrew Jones, who chaired the taskforce, said: “It is a comprehensive report detailing where we think the priorities lie for rail electrification in the north. We have placed economic growth at the heart of this project and been working on the premise that all the lines of the north would be electrified, it is only a question of when. This report details where it should start.”
He added: “The need for rail electrification is significant. It is part of the improvements in infrastructure that we need in the north. We know how much there is to do and to do it we are looking at a task of generational scale. Indeed, this report is intended to look years ahead.”
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