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.

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north of England which through the new franchises will provide more than 500 brand-new carriages, the removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacer trains, room for 40,000 extra passengers at the busiest times, and more than 2,000 extra services a week.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:

• A new direct link to Wakefield, Sheffield, Chesterfield and Nottingham as part of the Northern Connect network, with at least 10 services per day in each direction operated by brand new diesel trains.
• One additional train per hour between Bradford Interchange and Leeds.
• Later trains to Bradford from Leeds.
• One extra train per hour to Manchester, with a significantly enhanced evening service and double the current hourly frequency on Sundays.
• New direct links to Liverpool, Chester, Warrington and Manchester Airport, with an hourly service to each using brand new trains as part of the Northern Connect network.
• Increased frequency on Sunday services from Bradford to Skipton and Ilkley, with hourly trains
• Six additional trains to/from London.