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KHOODEELAAR! updating the evidence of the serious flaws in peddling for Crossrail London at the expense of the needs of the North of England [145]
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/opinion/Chris-Leslie-The-North-deserves.4544759.jp
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Chris Leslie: The North deserves a transport renaissance
Published Date: 01 October 2008
By Chris Leslie
POLITICIANS from both Labour and the Conservatives will have spent some of the past couple of weeks travelling north up the West Coast Mainline on route to their respective party conferences.
I hope that such journeys gave them a chance to reflect on the transport needs for the North of England and in particular how to make sure that the focus on major infrastructure problems doesn't solely focus on London and the South East.
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seem that the Conservatives may be heading in this direction of travel, albeit perhaps taking a little longer in their journey than some of us would have liked. Their announcement this week
that a Conservative government would build a high speed North-South rail link instead of adding a third runway at Heathrow will be
seen as a canny political move. Ruth Kelly's successor as Transport Secretary will need to act swiftly to catch up on this agenda.
It is a truism to say that London remains the economic powerhouse in the UK and its public transport infrastructure must, of course, remain modern and efficient.
However, northern eyebrows should be rightly raised at the sheer scale of investment that is routinely lavished on the capital city by Treasury decisions across the decades.
Just compare the painfully slow time it took to decide and deliverthe upgrades to Leeds City Station or the Bingley Relief Road in my former constituency –following literally decades of campaigning – with the far speedier billions of pounds prioritised for the new Jubilee line and the Crossrail project.
Step on most trains during the day and it becomes quickly apparent that Britain's railways are almost at capacity.
We have seen passenger numbers double in the past 10 years, meaning that more passengers are now travelling by train than at any time since 1946.
If a community can offer a clean, efficient, comfortable and convenient means of linking into the main centres of economic activity, it will boost its prosperity manifold.
Modern rail links could revitalise the North, taking pressure off an already overheated South-East and offering businesses a viable option of investing where costs are more competitive rather than automatically gravitating towards the capital city.
The impact would be astounding – some estimates even suggest fast-rail link journeys from Leeds to Manchester could take as little as a breathtaking 17 minutes, while travel time from Leeds to London would be shaved by over half an hour.
I would go further. At the moment it is quicker and easier to reach the North-East from Lancashire by road than by rail. A complicated system of changing trains at York can sometimes lead to journeys exceeding four hours.
Linking together direct routes to the main northern cities would offer a viable alternative to air and rail travel and encourage better
trade between Yorkshire and the rest of the North. The success of Greater London has been built in part on the infrastructure of the underground network.
A transport network connecting northern cities should surely not be too much to ask.
There are also other issues where the North needs a fairer deal. Unlike the rest of the country, London benefits from a regulated bus
service, ensuring that the Mayor enjoys key strategic power over its services.
There remains a glaring disjoint in the fact that local authorities outside London don't benefit from similar powers. The Government
has relaxed the rules and given council leaders at least a say in
where bus routes should be allocated but a surely more effective solution would be to devolve the entire power to local elected leaders.
Links towards Europe should also be explored. Currently, access to the Eurostar is based on London and Kent, meaning that whole swathes of the country have to travel south just to get on the train.
Local leaders and business in our region should lobby for better links from the North, which would open up new opportunities for business and travel.
Following the notorious Policy Exchange report earlier this year which advocated a mass emigration from northern cities into the "successful" South, the rail link policy is a shrewd move by David Cameron aimed at replenishing his credentials within Yorkshire and the North.
I hope, though, that the fast rail link issue won't become a party political issue. Rather, it should begin a serious debate within Westminster about how we can achieve a renaissance of public transport in the North of England and how economic prosperity can be encouraged in all corners of the country.
Chris Leslie was MP for Shipley from 1997-2005. He is director of the New Local Government Network.
