Metro Chairman Cllr Chris Greaves has described a report that cites inequalities in Government transport investment as one of the contributing factors to life expectancy being lower in the north than the south, as 'a wake-up call to the Government'.

The report published in the British Medical Journal suggests that people living in the North are 20 per cent more likely to die prematurely than those in the South, and highlights differences in public spending on transport and research between north and south, which it describes as large.

Opportunities

“Good transport links contribute to people’s access to work, education opportunities, medical treatment, shops and services,” said Cllr Greaves. “They also provide people with the active links to family, friends and social activities that keep them mentally and physically active and engaged with their surroundings and society.

“In turn, these benefits contribute positively to local businesses and the economy, help to reduce the burden on health services and encourage people to play their part in a bigger society. Transport is a wealth-creator which underpins every aspect of our lives.

“While Metro has never denied the fact that London and its surrounding area is a special case within the UK, we have long called for the legacy of transport underspending in the north, and particularly in our region by successive governments, to end.

“Metro’s and its partners’ proposals for improved local rail services, new stations, more trains, the NGT trolleybus network and Castleford Interchange are currently under consideration by the Department for Transport.

“By approving them, the Government would be giving out the clear messages that it is determined to end this unacceptable inequality in people’s life expectancy that has been highlighted today, and that it is a Government for the whole of the UK.”

Link to the report in the British Medical Journal