After visiting Network Rail's Northern Hub Exhibition at Leeds Station today, Metro Chairman Cllr James Lewis again stressed the need for the scheme to be implemented in its entirety.

"As Network Rail's exhibition at the station clearly demonstrates, by upgrading the North's rail network, the £530m scheme will generate £4bn of economic growth across the north of England, including up to 30,000 new private sector jobs" said Cllr Lewis. "It will mean two extra fast trains per hour between Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester, bringing the total to six, and a reduction in journey times by 10 minutes."

Concerns

Cllr Lewis last week expressed concerns that in recent speeches Rail Minister Theresa Villiers had cast doubt on the future of the Northern Hub on grounds of cost.

"Costs like £16bn for Crossrail and around £500m apiece for the refurbishment of London termini such as Kings Cross and Victoria don't seem to worry ministers so neither should £530m for a scheme that will benefit a whole swathe of the country and help achieve the coalition's stated aim of narrowing the gap between north and south," said Cllr Lewis.

"Everybody knows that if the hubs on your car are damaged or incomplete, the wheels are going to come off," he continued. "To prevent the wheels falling off this plan for growth in the North's and the nation's economy, Theresa Villiers needs to throw her wholehearted support behind the Northern Hub scheme and stop these dark mutterings about its costs."

Network Rail's exhibition stand is at Leeds train station on Friday 4th November from 7-9.30am and 3-7pm and on Saturday 5th November from 10am-5pm. There will be a number of Network Rail staff available to answer questions about our proposals.

Link to Network Rail's Northern Hub Project web pages.