Team Yorkshire Forward Ontrack Issue 106
The Northern Hub: transforming rail travel in the region
By Rafael Orsini, Strategic Transport Policy Analyst
Yorkshire Forward leads
the transport theme of the
Northern Way. One of its
identified main transport
challenges was the need
to develop and resolve key
constraints of the regional
rail network.
Commuting into Sheffield,
Leeds and Manchester has
been rising strongly in recent
years. Overall rail passenger
journeys have also grown in
the Yorkshire and Humber
region by 60% in the nine
years to 2007-08. With
overcrowding forecast to rise,
even more pressure will be put
on the network.
Bedale Assembly Rooms refurbished and adorned with impressive art panels
The historic nineteenth
century Assembly Rooms
in the heart of Bedale have
been transformed into high
quality office space with the
help of the Bedale Heritage
Partnership Scheme, a
partnership of Yorkshire
Forward, English Heritage
and Hambleton District
Council
The Assembly Rooms project
is the largest scheme carried
out under the Heritage
Partnership Scheme, which
has led to £1.2m of investment
in the town. Other projects
have included transforming
shop fronts and improving
ginnels (Note from Editor
– alleys are known as ginnels,
snickets or snickelways in
Yorkshire and Lancashire!) in
the town.
The Assembly Rooms project
has seen almost 4,000 sq ft
of office space created with a
new mezzanine floor inserted
to create a second floor. Work
Over the last three years
we’ve worked closely with the
Department for Transport,
Network Rail, Greater
Manchester Integrated
Transport Authority, Northern
Rail and First Trans Pennine
Express to tackle these
challenges.   will reduce overcrowding.
In 2007, the Government
announced a major study into
the Hub. Phase one was led
by the Northern Way and was
known as the 'Manchester
Hub' study. It identified the
economic case to enhance
rail around Manchester and
across the north, and the
improvements to rail services
that would drive this economic
growth. The second phase, led
by Network Rail identified
value for money interventions
to address the gaps.
We welcome national plans
to overhaul the rail network in
the region. A £530m ‘Northern
Hub’ investment plan, unveiled
has been sensitive to the
historic fabric of the building
and features have been
retained where possible.
In addition to the works
inside the building,
impressive steel art panels
have been fitted to the blind
windows on the ground floor
on the external walls of the
building.
Students at Bedale’s High
School worked with a local
artist to create art panels that
reflect the town’s history. The
themes of the panels vary
from Eva Askquith, a Bedale
speedway rider in the 1920s
and 30s, to Bedale ‘harbour’
and Brian Fitzalan, Lord of
Bedale in the late thirteenth
century.
For more information about
projects in Bedale, please
contact Jacquie Boulton on
01904 696711.
Look out for a further series
of Renaissance Market Towns
(RMT) case studies; currently
by Network Rail, aims to
resolve a major bottleneck on
the rail network in and around
the centre of Manchester. This
will bring both important
economic and productivity
benefits for the Yorkshire &
Humber.
The identified benefits for
passengers include:
Six trains an hour between
Leeds, Huddersfield and
Manchester.
Improved journeys between
Leeds and Manchester (43
mins).
More frequent services
from Dewsbury and
Huddersfield.
Direct services to
Manchester Airport and
Liverpool from Bradford
and Halifax.
More trains from
Rotherham to Sheffield,
in production they will be
available in hard copy and
on our website soon! Projects
featured include those
in Mytholmroyd, Bedale,
Liverpool and Manchester.
Faster trains between
Doncaster and Liverpool,
Chester and Preston.
This series of upgrades will
allow more reliable journey
times across the region and
Faster trains will be able to
connect key pan-regional cities Manchester and Leeds,
and towns, whilst allowing
greater space for stopping
services and additional freight
trains to operate. The Hub
solution will also address
reducing some of the identified
£30bn productivity gap in the
North's economy.
The House of Commons
Transport Select Committee
has also identified a strong
case for prioritising the
Northern Hub, in its report
‘Priorities for investment in
the railways’:
Penistone and Settle.
For more information on
RMT case studies, please
contact Holly Forquilha on
0113 39 45798.
22
£530m investment into the
rail infrastructure;
3.5m more passengers every
year;
700 more trains every day;
and
additional tracks through
the Pennines between
and between Sheffield and
Manchester.
Network Rail will continue to
work with partners to develop
detailed improvement, with
the intention of implementing
them from 2014 through to
2019, dependent on funding
from the Government being
secured by 2012.
For more information, please
contact Rafael on 0113 39
49830.