Bizarre Northern Powerhouse rail map issued

[321362]

image shows a map shared on social media by the Mayor of West Yorkshire (can't link as don't have an account) showing potential Northern Powerhouse Rail upgrades. From west to east the stations are:
Liverpool, Warrington (connections to Chester), Manchester Airpont, Manchester Airport, Warrington, Warrington, Huddersfield, Huddersfield, Manchester Piccadilly (located just south of Sheffield), Sheffield (connections to Hull which is placed on the map somewhere north of Selby), Rotherham, Leeds, York, Hull (again) (just north of York), York (again) (just north of the New Hull), Newcastle (somewhere near Filey)

 

[Sun Chariot]

View attachment 196020
image shows an (as far as I know) official proposed map for Northern Powerhouse Rail upgrades. From west to east the stations are:
Liverpool, Warrington (connections to Chester), Manchester Airpont, Manchester Airport, Warrington, Warrington, Huddersfield, Huddersfield, Manchester Piccadilly (located just south of Sheffield), Sheffield (connections to Hull which is placed on the map somewhere north of Selby), Rotherham, Leeds, York, Hull (again) (just north of York), York (again) (just north of the New Hull), Newcastle (somewhere near Filey)

That's an interesting map. I might be missing the obvious but what's mad and AI-created about it?

 

[TUC]

A map issued to show the government's Northern Powerhouse rail plans has Hull moved inland, and appears twice, as does Huddersfield which puts in a second appearance at the end of the Leeds-Bradford rail line, and Manchester has moved south of Sheffield.

Even worse, Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire circulated it, as shown in the attached post. OK, she won't have designed the map, but what does it say about the geographical knowledge, or attention to detail, of those involved in the project that this was issued? One could argue it is stylistically designed, like the tube map, but that can't explain away all of these issues.

 

[IC2000]

Generation by 'AI' unfortunately can explain all of these errors. A handy reminder that 'AI' does in fact know nothing, and just tries to generate something that might look accurate.

 

[Trainguy34]

Also has 2 Manchester Airports and 3 Warringtons!

 

[TUC]

Generation by 'AI' unfortunately can explain all of these errors. A handy reminder that 'AI' does in fact know nothing, and just tries to generate something that might look accurate.

It is a good example of how AI does not excuse human beings from having responsibility for reviewing what is produced

 

[800001]

A map issued to show the government's Northern Powerhouse rail plans has Hull moved inland, and appears twice, as does Huddersfield which puts in a second appearance at the end of the Leeds-Bradford rail line, and Manchester has moved south of Sheffield.

Even worse, Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire circulated it, as shown in the attached post. OK, she won't have designed the map, but what does it say about the geographical knowledge, or attention to detail, of those involved in the project that this was issued? One could argue it is stylistically designed, like the tube map, but that can't explain away all of these issues.

And the map was removed shortly after and the correct one was then issued.
Updated and correct image attached below.

https://x.com/clinnick1/status/2011591797953479071?s=46&t=JLp3J2Up_Gl_m9cQz-au6w

This was the first one to come out. It was subsequently deleted and updated.

 

[thejuggler]

No Bradford either.

It is also unlikely the Mayor prepares and sends her own social media posts.

 

[Trainguy34]

Might just be me but is "The government has commitment to" even correct grammar?

 

[tumbledown]

Interesting article:
Weird Generalization and Inductive Backdoors: New Ways to Corrupt LLMs

 

[TUC]

No Bradford either.

It is also unlikely the Mayor prepares and sends her own social media posts.

If you allow posts to be issued under your name, you bear responsibility for them, especially if you are in public office.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Jan 2026 ==

And the map was removed shortly after and the correct one was then issued.
Updated and correct image attached below.

But how did the first one even get issued without the errors being spotted? They're pretty obvious. If you work in the West Yorkshire Mayor's office, one assume that a knowlege of Yorkshire is a basic requirement.

 

[AlterEgo]

And the map was removed shortly after and the correct one was then issued.
Updated and correct image attached below.

The lazy, poop-from-a-butt AI generated one was removed and one was then uploaded which had been produced by a person, probably in a panic. The idea they posted the "wrong one" is cope.

AI is total cancer at the layperson level.

 

[QueensCurve]

Interesting article:
Weird Generalization and Inductive Backdoors: New Ways to Corrupt LLMs

An insight into where 'Mechahitler' came from.

 

[z444z]

And the North Sea by Newcastle has been turned into some kind of mountainous sunny paradise? Embarrassing to use AI for this instead of paying a graphic designer for a twenty minute job or even just using a freely available map tool.

 

[AlterEgo]

Yep, you can get a qualified guy in India to do this for £20 on Fiverr and it will be correct and accurate.

 

[AndrewP]

So embarrassing

 

[z444z]

Just to summarise, we’ve got Phase 1 from Leeds to Bradford. This links Huddersfield and Huddersfield to York via Leeds, and to Sheffield or maybe Manchester Piccadilly via Leeds and Rotherham. From York, there’s existing rail links to York via Hull. There are also existing rail links to Hull from Sheffield or maybe Manchester Piccadilly, and from Leeds (not via York).

There’s Phase 2 from Liverpool To Manchester. This links Liverpool to Warrington via Warrington, Manchester Airport and Manchester Airport, and Warrington. There are existing rail links from Warrington to Warrington via Chester.

And Phase 3 from Manchester to Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield. This has a northern branch from Manchester Airport to Huddersfield after which it branches into two, one going to Huddersfield and the other to Leeds, and a southern branch from Warrington to Sheffield or maybe Manchester Piccadilly.

 

[TUC]

And the North Sea by Newcastle has been turned into some kind of mountainous sunny paradise? Embarrassing to use AI for this instead of paying a graphic designer for a twenty minute job or even just using a freely available map tool.

Even odder when the correct map which replaced the erroneous one was part of the government press release making its announcement so was clearly available.

 

[Megafuss]

A map issued to show the government's Northern Powerhouse rail plans has Hull moved inland, and appears twice, as does Huddersfield which puts in a second appearance at the end of the Leeds-Bradford rail line, and Manchester has moved south of Sheffield.

Even worse, Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire circulated it, as shown in the attached post. OK, she won't have designed the map, but what does it say about the geographical knowledge, or attention to detail, of those involved in the project that this was issued? One could argue it is stylistically designed, like the tube map, but that can't explain away all of these issues.

These aren't serious people when it comes to transport. Even a Crayonista would have created something better!!

 

[Falcon1200]

Might just be me but is "The government has commitment to" even correct grammar?

No, it most certainly is not!

 

[TUC]

Let me guess it was created by a junior member of staff in Tracy Brabin’s Comms. team who, faced with being asked to include a map, their first response was to ask AI to do it for them rather than taking 30 seconds to search for the map themselves. If so, that speaks volumes and is a deeper concern.

 

[omnicity4659]

Let me guess it was created byca junior member of staff in Tracy Brabin’s Comms. team who, faced with being asked to include a map, their first response was to ask AI to do it for them rather than taking 30 seconds to search for the map themselves. If so, that speaks volumes and is a deeper concern.

It looks like they just took the existing map and put it through AI to overlay it onto a more interesting background…

 

[321362]

That's an interesting map. I might be missing the obvious but what's mad and AI-created about it?

It's definitely an AI-generated map as opposed to designed by a real person

 

[Djgr]

So embarrassing

It's depressing.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

It's depressing.

It shows just how clueless Westminster politicians are about the railway geography of Northern England.

 

[Royston Vasey]

It shows just how clueless Westminster politicians are about the railway geography of Northern England.

She's the Mayor of West Yorkshire!!

 

[YorksLad12]

Let me guess it was created by a junior member of staff in Tracy Brabin’s Comms. team who, faced with being asked to include a map, their first response was to ask AI to do it for them rather than taking 30 seconds to search for the map themselves. If so, that speaks volumes and is a deeper concern.

I'm going to have to take issue with that, as a former member of the WYCA comms team (which covers more than just the Mayor‘s office). If it came from DfT it would have been included without question (because they always know what they’re doing, write?). If it was done in-house it wouldn’t have been thrown in without someone else looking at it.

We don’t know where it came from and who signed off on it, but blaming a “junior” is wrong.

 

[Harpers Tate]

Perhaps the initial thinking was to relocate Hull (all of it) further inland to save money on rail upgrades. And to build a second airport for Manchester.

 

[z444z]

Perhaps the initial thinking was to relocate Hull (all of it) further inland to save money on rail upgrades. And to build a second airport for Manchester.

And build a second Hull too. And two new Warringtons. And a second York. And another Huddersfield. Also move Manchester to Sheffield to create Mancheffield.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

She's the Mayor of West Yorkshire!!

But prior to that she was a Westminster MP for a fair few years. Either way, it reflects pretty poor on her Northern geography if this map is what she thinks the rail network looks like.