Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2017 to Question 112096, on Railways: North of England, what assessment has been undertaken on the cases where serving locations on the planned Northern Powerhouse Rail between cities may enhance the business case, and therefore be beneficial.

In addition to the cities outlined in the March 2015 document “The Northern Powerhouse: One Agenda, One Economy, One North”, Transport for the North are considering whether other significant economic centres between these cities could be served by Northern Powerhouse Rail and enhance the business case. This includes assessing the economic benefits and costs of serving Warrington, Huddersfield, Bradford, York, Darlington and Durham.

These areas are being considered on the basis that they form significant markets in their own right and are geographically located on likely corridors that future NPR routes could take.

These considerations will form part of the business case for NPR which Transport for the North are preparing for the end of 2018.