Is Network North levelling up in action or more Tory distraction?

Joseph Quash on 21 October 2023

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a brand new transport scheme for the North of England, known as Network North. The announcement was made on Wednesday 4th at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, and follows the cancellation of the Northern leg of HS2, intended to connect Birmingham and Manchester with high-speed rail.

The Leeds line was scrapped back in November 2021.

The purpose of HS2, as part of the wider Levelling Up scheme across the UK, was to create more opportunity in cities outside of London and boost regional productivity. Furthermore, many hoped that such a large infrastructure project would reinvigorate the stagnant UK economy; more than 30,000 jobs have already been provided by HS2. Speaking to The Civil Engineer, the Civil Engineering Contractors’ Association (CECA) stated that “without commitment to fast tracking [the Network North projects] and getting boots on the ground in the immediate future, they will have little impact on the UK’s economic recovery and future prosperity.”

In an official statement on the Government website, Sunak claims that “every penny” of the £36 billion intended for HS2 will be reinvested into the Midlands and the North, providing for a new programme of transport improvements that will benefit “far more people, in far more places, far quicker.”

Of that total, £19.8 billion has been pledged specifically to the North, “on things like connecting its major cities”, according to Sunak. Railways connecting Leeds to cities like Hull and Sheffield are also set to be upgraded, reducing travel times.

The most notable feature for Leeds residents is the new “fully funded £2.5 billion West Yorkshire mass-transit system, giving the region better connections to Bradford and Wakefield” that has been proposed.

Leeds is renowned for being the largest major city in Western Europe without any kind of mass public transport network.

There have been ongoing plans for a West Yorkshire transit system for some years, part of West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin’s “plans for West Yorkshire to become a net-zero carbon economy by 2038”, reports the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Plans for a Leeds-based tram system were originally proposed in 1991, more than three decades ago. The Leeds Supertram, a second iteration, gained provisional government approval in 2001, before being scrapped in 2005 due to concerns over rising costs.

Brabin herself described the scrapping of the Northern leg as “yet another betrayal of the North” in an official statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. In an interview with Channel 4, she voiced doubts about the proposed Leeds transit system, highlighting that there are, as yet, “no timeframes for the money” and citing previous Government rollbacks: “we’ve been promised so much by Conservative government [that has]… been pulled”, referencing the Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme.

Northern Powerhouse Rail, sometimes nicknamed HS3, was proposed in 2014 and was intended to connect Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds by high speed rail. However, the project was significantly watered down in 2021 under Boris Johnson.

Brabin’s reservations gained credence after the Government withdrew its commitment to reopening the disused Leamside railway line in the North-East just 24 hours after the announcement. The reopening of the Leamside line was one of the Government’s “key transport pledges”, according to LBC.

Asked about the proposed Network North projects, Secretary-General of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) Mick Lynch said this in an interview with PoliticsJOE, at the Labour Party Conference on Sunday 8th: “I don’t think any of that’s going to happen. [The Government] didn’t even consult Network Rail about how it’s going to work. They’re now saying that all the money is not there.”

As of yet, the Government has not announced when these projects will be initiated, or when the funds will be delivered to their respective regions.

The question, then, is whether Network North is a genuine, long-term scheme to bring efficiency and prosperity to a Northern transport system that has been neglected for decades, or, as Mayor Brabin puts it, “pure electioneering” for a Conservative party struggling in the polls with a general election looming on the horizon.

Christmas Train Strikes Could Leave Students Stranded this Festive Season

Grace Cooper on 15 December 2022

Christmas is fast approaching, which means many students will be thinking about their return home for the holidays. But such decisions might not include rail travel, as The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) have announced 4 weeks’ worth of industrial action.

Over 40,000 members across Network and 14 Train Operating Companies will be striking from the 13^th to the 17^th of December as well as from the 3^rd to the 7^th of January in a series of 48-hour strikes. Many university terms will be drawing to a close around these December dates, the University of Leeds being one of them. So, what impact might this have on students heading home for the holidays?

Many students rely on train services to get them from their hometown to university. And amidst a cost-of-living crisis, the cost of a train journey with a railcard might be a cheaper option for students than travelling by car. Data from RAC reveals that the average price of petrol in 2022 was recorded as 166.66 pence per litre and 175.59 pence per litre for diesel which is a significant increase from the year before. This might make travel by car an unlikely alternative to those facing a journey crisis this Christmas and as such, many students might find rail travel to be one of very limited options.

Some people have taken to Twitter to complain that they are struggling to get back to their families at Christmas. One person also mentioned that people without cars are train companies’ core customer base, although they did also state that it was “good news for national express” as it might in fact mean that coach travel becomes the next course of action for travellers this festive season.

Previous train strikes have also seen students asking in Facebook student groups if anybody is driving to certain locations and if they can get a lift, as they have no other means of getting there. These desperate attempts to find a way home might become commonplace as these train strike dates approach and may place students in danger as they accept lifts from people they don’t know.

Frustration towards the train strikes is evident, but this frustration is the result of a lack of change made in support of train staff. In a statement published to RMT’s website, they maintain that Network Rail neglected to “improve an offer on jobs, pay and conditions for members”. They also said The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operating companies, did not make their previous promises about working conditions.

RMT’s general secretary Mick Lynch stated that “this latest round of strikes will show how important our members are to the running of this country and will send a clear message that we want a good deal on job security, pay and conditions for our people”.

As much as students are likely to support such action, it does leave those far from home facing trouble ahead of Christmas. Coaches are likely to be a favourable substitute for students that need to get home, but if this is the case, then coaches are likely to face significant pressure in volumes of people over the coming weeks if it is the only travel option.

Students that cannot make alternative travel arrangements are likely to be among those most impacted when these strikes hit, but what can they do to help the situation? Perhaps these strikes might be a call for students to do more to support rail staff, so their voices can be heard. But perhaps it should be more of a call to the government and those with the authority to make a change, so workers are not faced with having to disrupt journeys this Christmas, just so they can be listened to.

It is a challenging and controversial situation for both strikers and students. It is evident more than ever that more needs to be done to improve working conditions and better support is required for transport staff. As otherwise, it has a considerable impact on many and could leave students stranded at university, and transport workers might continue to be ignored.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons