Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Rail Journey Times: Bradford to Leeds

Thursday 19 May 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government will upgrade Calder Valley line to reduce journey times from 20 minutes to 12 minutes.
  • Integrated rail plan announced as a 96 billion investment in railways of midlands and north.
  • Hon. Member corrected on misconception about investment scale compared to Crossrail.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Imran Hussain Lab Bradford East
Transport
Context

The question addresses the need to reduce travel time on the Calder Valley line between Bradford Interchange and Leeds, which currently takes about 20 minutes.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to shorten rail journey times from Bradford to Leeds. The current journey takes approximately 20 minutes today, and there are efforts to upgrade the Calder Valley line to reduce this time.

Answer from Andrew Stephenson

As part of the integrated rail plan, the Government will be upgrading the Calder Valley line between Bradford Interchange and Leeds to reduce journey times from about 20 minutes today to as low as 12 minutes.

Answered
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Q2 Imran Hussain Lab Bradford East
Transport
Context

The question addresses the scrapping of Northern Powerhouse Rail in favour of an integrated rail plan, despite alternative funding models proposed by the Mayor of Greater Manchester that successfully funded Crossrail in London.

Question

Last year, the Government scrapped Northern Powerhouse Rail, which would have run from Manchester to Leeds through Bradford. The questioner points out that these same models got £19 billion for Crossrail and asks why they are not being considered for places like Bradford. He also inquires about whether alternative proposals set out by the Mayor of Greater Manchester have been considered.

Answer from Andrew Stephenson

Let me gently correct the hon. Gentleman: last year, we set out our integrated rail plan, which is a £96 billion investment in the railways of the midlands and the north. It is the biggest ever investment by any Government in the railways of this country, and that is five times as much money as was spent on Crossrail. We are committed to delivering improvements across the north of England to more places sooner than under previous plans, and I encourage him to get behind the plans.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific alternative funding models proposed by the Mayor of Greater Manchester were not directly addressed.

How: We Are Committed To Delivering Improvements Across The North Of England, I Am More Than Happy To Meet Anyone, Including Transport For The North And The Mayor Of Greater Manchester

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