Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to increase passenger capacity on trains between Bradford and (a) Manchester and (b) Leeds.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Rail commuters into Manchester will benefit from an almost 30% increase in capacity on Northern services in the morning peak and for rail commuters into Leeds a 37% increase. By December 2019, an extra 18 Northern services per day will be introduced.
On Sundays 2 trains per hour will be provided, up from 1 per hour today, and new hourly services to Manchester Airport and Liverpool via Manchester using brand new trains.
Between Bradford and Leeds, a new direct link will be introduced to Wakefield, Sheffield, Chesterfield and Nottingham via Leeds, with at least 10 services per day in each direction operated by brand new diesel trains.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits to Bradford of its being included as a stop on the Northern Powerhouse Rail network.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department is working closely with Transport for the North to assess the case for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) including whether the NPR network can serve key markets such as Bradford.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if Bradford will be included among the stations for the Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Northern Powerhouse Rail, sometimes called HS3, is the Government’s vision for dramatically faster and more frequent rail journeys across the North, to help build the Northern Powerhouse and strengthen the British economy.
The Department is working closely with Transport for the North to assess the case for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) including whether the NPR network can serve key markets such as Bradford.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has held with Transport for the North about the potential economic benefits to Bradford of the planned Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Northern Powerhouse Rail, sometimes called HS3, is the Government’s vision for dramatically faster and more frequent rail journeys across the North, to help build the Northern Powerhouse and strengthen the British economy.
The Department is working closely with Transport for the North to assess the case for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) including whether the NPR network can serve key markets such as Bradford.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has held with Transport for the North on including a Bradford station on the Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Northern Powerhouse Rail, sometimes called HS3, is the Government’s vision for dramatically faster and more frequent rail journeys across the North, to help build the Northern Powerhouse and strengthen the British economy.
The Department is working closely with Transport for the North to assess the case for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) including whether the NPR network can serve key markets such as Bradford.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefit to Bradford of any expansion of Heathrow.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Our global connections are crucial for British business and benefit the whole country. The economic benefits to the UK as a whole, not just London and the South East, will be taken into consideration when making a decision on a preferred scheme for airport expansion, alongside a range of other relevant evidence.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits to Bradford and the wider regional economy of electrifying the Calder Valley line.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Later this year the rail industry will present its initial advice to Government on investment needs for the national network, drawing on the outputs of Network Rail’s long term planning process, including its refresh of the national electrification strategy. Taking account of this advice and other inputs – including from Transport for the North - the Government intends to articulate its emerging priorities for improvement to the national network during 2017.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits to Bradford of improvements to rail connectivity in and around the Bradford area.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Government recognises the economic benefits of investing in transport and is committed to spend £13 billion on transport in the north of England which through the new franchises will provide more than 500 brand-new carriages, the removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacer trains, room for 40,000 extra passengers at the busiest times, and more than 2,000 extra services a week.
As part of the North of England programme we are investing in journey time, capacity and connectivity improvements to give passengers more and faster services to and from Bradford.
Specific improvements in improving connections to and from Bradford include:
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to improve road connectivity between Bradford and its wider region.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Government is committed to improving transport links across the North and Bradford, as a key partner in the Leeds City Region, has access to the biggest Growth Deal allocation agreed in 2014 which will provide up to £781m for the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund through Local Growth Fund and Gain Share up to 2035. The fund will allow Bradford to access funding for the schemes they need to benefit the city and improve connectivity between Bradford and the rest of the North.
In addition to this local investment, the Road Investment Strategy will tackle delays for commuters on the strategic road network between Bradford, Leeds and Manchester. This includes improving the M62/M606 Chain Bar Interchange where congestion is a major issue, and the planned Smart Motorway scheme for junctions 20-25 of the M62 will increase capacity, reduce congestion and improve safety.
To support this work, the 2016 Budget announced a further £161 million to accelerate the transformation of the M62, as part of building the Northern Powerhouse.