Manchester Piccadilly

---

By Danny SavageNorth of England correspondent, BBC News

Supply to The Northern Powerhouse was interrupted This Week when long-term aspirations and plans collided with reality As One big transport project - HS2 - was replaced with a multitude of smaller ones. How can The new way that powerhouse will be energised make a difference to residents and businesses in those areas?

Collectively, could affect people over a wider area than HS2 - But Only If they actually happen. The big problem The government has is that trust in what they promise has been shaken.

Before This Week , leaders in northern England believed The Future Economic Growth of a vast region from South Yorkshire to The Scottish Borders would be underpinned by HS2.

They had just about got over The disappointment of The Eastern leg - from. But then came The official confirmation of politics' most recent worst-kept Secret - The leg to Manchester was being jettisoned too.

Henri Murison, chief executive of The Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said he feared The Announcement had set The North back 100 years. Business and civic leaders across The North had had a Clear Vision .

" One high-speed line for The West , One for The East and - across The fireplace - a lintel, Northern Powerhouse rail, " he says.

If The fireplace has been destroyed, will The North be left out in The cold?

The government insists not and points to billions of pounds which are Not Now being spent on HS2 and being redirected to other northern projects.

Future journey times quoted by Rishi Sunak This Week are Impressive - Manchester to Bradford in 30 Minutes , Sheffield in 42 minutes and across to Hull in less than an hour-and-a-half. All on electrified lines.

A big part of that project is already in play and is not new. Tru - or and will initially see The electrification of The route between Manchester and York by about 2035.

What is new This Week though is a commitment to electrify The Hope Valley Line between Sheffield and Manchester , build a new Station in Bradford, open a new line in The Don Valley to Sheffield and extend electrification to Hull. Plus lots more.

'Northern leaders scratching heads'

With The pull of a lever and a switch of The points, The Prime Minister diverted £36bn from HS2 to these new proposals. It has left some northern leaders scratching their heads over The sums.

Tracy Brabin , The metro mayor of West Yorkshire , is especially interested in plans for Bradford and The County 's Mass Transit project, which will introduce a tram network.

" I actually don't recognise The numbers that have been attached to projects, " she says.

" It's not The numbers that Transport for The North have worked out what we need to make it possible and in some cases The numbers are half of what it would cost to deliver. "

There is also doubt from some quarters about whether projects will happen. York-based rail journalist Phil Haigh questions whether The government can be trusted to deliver, having just ditched a project which had been planned for 15 years.

" The transformational nature that HS2 was promising has just been thrown out of The Window , " he says.

" This is The sort of thing that would have been attracting people out of their cars and creating The space on The existing railway to run more local trains, freight trains and to take more lorries off The Roads . What We Are actually getting without HS2 is more congested motorways and more crowded roads. "

The North is not just The Transpennine/M62 corridor. Some standalone projects have been pledged elsewhere. Stocksbridge to Sheffield is a distance of 10 miles and takes half an hour to drive. This Week a new 11-minute Rail Link between The two was announced.

Sam Leeder, manager of ACTUS Insurance in Stocksbridge, says that would be " fantastic" and really help improve its high street.

" It would be good to see more people accessing it without using their cars, " he adds.

In The North East, a new Station is being planned for Ferryhill in County Durham as part of what is known as The Leamside Line . That may have already hit The buffers though as mentions of it following Wednesday's announcement were subsequently removed from The government's website.

Transport minister Richard Holden said they had only committed to " look into" The scheme.

Meanwhile a stretch of The A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham could finally be upgraded to a dual carriageway over a 13-mile stretch after being talked about for decades. The National Highways website states The cost, start and end dates are all TBC.

'Fundamental challenge'

None of what is being proposed is coming any time soon. The Prime Minister has said many of these projects will be delivered before HS2 was planned to arrive in The North - 2033 had been set for services to Manchester .

We already know The electrification of The main chunk of The transpennine line is likely to be after that date, meaning Everyday Life for rail travellers in The North is not likely to change much. The reality is frequent delays on crowded lines.

Stand on platform 14 at Manchester Piccadilly - One of only two through platforms at The Station - and it is a procession of trains. While One service waits in The Platform , The Next is usually standing at a Red Light at The far end of The Platform , ready to move in. Like so many rail journeys in The North , it is fine when everything works But One problem can cause huge knock-on delays.

The fundamental challenge for The government in northern England though is trust. So many of The Projects pledged this past week have been trumpeted before - Leeds trams, stations in Bradford, upgrading The A1 in Northumberland.

All sound familiar because they have been mooted for years or decades. If they fall by The wayside again it will potentially affect The Way people vote, if The Events of The Past week haven't already done so.

Related Topics

Source of news: bbc.com