Northern Powerhouse Rail set to get green light

[Jorge Da Silva]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hammond-sets-laser-focus-on-improving-productivity-rq0rk75zs

NPR set to get the green light. Thank god.

Fixing Britain’s chronic productivity problems will be at the heart of the government’s spending review this year, the chancellor pledged yesterday as he signalled plans to approve the £39 billion Northern Powerhouse Rail project.

Philip Hammond has told government departments to prepare submissions for a three-year spending review on day-to-day budgets and five years for capital investment. The final review, mapping out spending from next year, is expected to be published in late summer or in the autumn, assuming that a Brexit deal is agreed.

Decisions on how the money is allocated will depend on where it will deliver the biggest productivity boost, the chancellor told MPs on the Treasury select committee yesterday.

Britain’s productivity has stagnated since the financial crisis and is a fifth weaker than other leading G7 nations, which in turn causes lower wages and poorer living standards. Mr Hammond said that improving productivity “must be the laser-focused relentless task of the economic departments in government . . . as we move on from Brexit”.

He emphasised that for the spending review, “the priority will be to focus on high-potential areas. For example, the Northern Powerhouse concept and the Northern Powerhouse Rail project is focused on trying to deliver agglomeration effects by creating a single economic geography to create an area of economic activity which can rival centres like London. It is initiatives like that, that have a clear economic rationale, where we can point to the economic drivers that we expect to deliver the benefits of the investment. Those benefits will be measured in terms of productivity improvement.”

This year Transport for the North, a body set up by the government, submitted a business case for joining Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield with upgraded rail links in a £39 billion project. Bringing the big northern cities closer would help to boost regional productivity by 4 per cent and would generate 850,000 extra jobs by 2050, according to the Northern Powerhouse independent economic review.

Mr Hammond lamented the inequality in regional productivity, saying that “the North East has been identified as a high-potential area”.


He said: “In the UK, apart from the capital, we have just two cities — Aberdeen and Bristol — where productivity exceeds the national average. That is completely contrary to everything one would expect of a modern developed economy.”

The chancellor’s ambition to kick-start regional productivity will depend on Brexit. If there is a no-deal exit, he has said that he may switch to a one-year review. He also has insisted that a Brexit deal would deliver a “dividend” in higher growth and would free up £26 billion that has been set aside for economic firefighting.

The government must decide, too, on a new set of fiscal rules as the present target is to bring the structural budget deficit below 2 per cent of GDP in the next financial year.

Mr Hammond also noted complaints from wealthy people that they are paying too much tax proved the government had got the “balance right”. He warned that taxes could rise for higher earners to fund care for the ageing population.

 

[Greetlander]

Any hint yet of the preferred route Bradford - Manchester?

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

Any hint yet of the preferred route Bradford - Manchester?

Not yet, unfortunately. I suspect that will come after approval is given.

 

[MarkyT]

Any hint yet of the preferred route Bradford - Manchester?

Seeing as we're in speculative, my guess for the core transpennine segment would be existing route via Rochdale to a new junction between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge (where the valley on the north side is fairly clear of development so little if any residential demolition required) then new tunnelled route under the hills bypassing Halifax, direct to new Bradford Interchange low level station and continuing on in tunnel to emerge in the Aire Valley somewhere before Kirkstall to follow the existing alignment re-widened to four tracks into Leeds. Some widening to 3 or 4 tracks where feasible south of Rochdale to permit overtaking of local services. New tunnel in Manchester from Miles Platting area with fairly tight curve into north end of new low level Piccadilly station (through configuration) beneath planned HS2 terminal. tight curve doesn't matter as everything stops at Manchester. New Manchester south approach shared with HS2 to Manchester airport station and new junctions as required to access Liverpool spur shared with HS2, probably via Warrington BQ low level partly using existing and abandoned alignments.

 

[Greetlander]

Seeing as we're in speculative, my guess for the core transpennine segment would be existing route via Rochdale to a new junction between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge (where the valley on the north side is fairly clear of development so little if any residential demolition required) then new tunnelled route under the hills bypassing Halifax, direct to new Bradford Interchange low level station and continuing on in tunnel to emerge in the Aire Valley somewhere before Kirkstall to follow the existing alignment re-widened to four tracks into Leeds. Some widening to 3 or 4 tracks where feasible south of Rochdale to permit overtaking of local services. New tunnel in Manchester from Miles Platting area with fairly tight curve into north end of new low level Piccadilly station (through configuration) beneath planned HS2 terminal. tight curve doesn't matter as everything stops at Manchester. New Manchester south approach shared with HS2 to Manchester airport station and new junctions as required to access Liverpool spur shared with HS2, probably via Warrington BQ low level partly using existing and abandoned alignments.

I like everything you said except bypassing Halifax. I am of course biased.