Thursday 26 March 2009

West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority (ITA)councillors from all parties are adamant that the Leeds City Region should be part of any planned high-speed rail network for the UK.

At a meeting on Friday they backed work by Metro and its partners to help make the case for high-speed rail routes that link the Leeds City Region with London and Manchester, and plan to call for a meeting with Lord Adonis once the business case documents have been prepared.

High-speed rail could drastically cut journey times between Leeds and London and halve the current one-hour train link with Manchester. Recently, transport minister Lord Adonis insisted that key cities in northern England and Scotland be included in any plans for high-speed rail, and this week he maintained that a high-speed trans-Pennine rail line must be built to cut journey times between major northern cities.

The ITA members also stressed the need to set out to the City Region's MPs the significant economic benefits that being part of a high-seed network would bring.

"We must make sure that we are at the heart of the debate on high-speed rail, its routes and the cities it serves," said Metro Chairman Councillor Chris Greaves.

"I will be writing to Lord Adonis to arrange a date when we can go and present to him not only how important a high-speed link is to the Leeds City Region but also the contribution the Leeds City Region can make to achieving the aims of high-speed rail."

ITA members also welcomed the recent rethink which has seen the Government backing further electrification of UK rail lines, including the Midland Main Line route between Bedford and Sheffield. Metro is calling for local infill schemes, which could provide major benefits for West Yorkshire and the Leeds City Region, to be carried out at the same time.

The successful Leeds North West electrification scheme on the Airedale and Wharfedale lines has already shown that such services, coupled with new rolling stock, attract passengers to the railways and away from cars.

Metro sees a case for the electrification of other local routes such as the Harrogate line, where it could help advance the introduction of tram-trains. Trans-Pennine journeys between York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester would be significantly quicker 'under wire'.

Councillors at Friday's ITA meeting agreed that Network Rail should be pressed to extend electrification schemes in West Yorkshire and the Leeds City Region.

Read the ITA report on National Rail Initiatives