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Network Rail to submit £560m Northern Hub plans
Plans for the £560m Northern Hub scheme will be put to government next week, Network Rail has confirmed. If the project – which is supported by Insider's Back the Bid campaign – secures government cash, Network Rail said the north could start to see the benefits as soon as 2016.
At a rail debate in Leeds this week, Network Rail's Northern Hub chief Graham Botham also confirmed the consultation process would begin on 6 October 2011.
The decision on funding will be made next June and, if successful, work will begin in April 2014. The region will start to see the benefits of the ambitious project from December 2016, before the scheme is finally completed in December 2018.
Botham said the Northern Hub plans would provide 700 trains a day, catering for 44 million passengers a year, and would guarantee faster and more direct services across the north.
He added that despite costing £560m, the plan would help to create thousands more jobs and that for every £1 spent, there will be £4 of benefit to the local economy.
The debate, organised by Built Environment, attracted an audience of key decision makers and the speakers included transport minister Norman Baker, Leeds City Region LEP chairman Neil McLean, Leeds City Council development director Martin Farrington and the director general of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, David Brown.
McLean welcomed the news and said: "This is a huge economic region and we do not have an adequate transport infrastructure. This scheme is very important for Leeds and the whole of the north and fast links are vital to the future economic success the region.
"We have a goal to create 60,000 jobs in the next five years and for businesses to create jobs, they need to be able to move their people. If we do not improve the transport infrastructure, we do not stand a chance of creating those jobs."
His views were echoed by Farrington, who said: "The Northern Hub is a very important project and we need to get the message across to government about just how important this investment is to our region."
Transport minister Baker told the audience: "We need to tackle the deficit to create the conditions for prosperity. However, we recognise the importance of infrastructure and we are committed to a modern transport network. We are at a pivotal moment for the rail industry and together we can overcome the cost issues."
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