Firstly, engagement with bidders for the various franchises has resulted in a promise by Virgin East Coast to provide a two-hourly direct service from Harrogate to London and back (7 trains per day in each direction) which is a vast improvement on the current situation where there is only one early morning train to London and one late evening train back again.
Secondly, the Government’s Invitation to Tender for the Northern franchise requires the bidders to replace the outdated and much hated Pacer trains by 2020, which is something many across the North of England have been calling for. Pacers are not only uncomfortable and slow, but also lack suitable disabled access and bike storage, so I will be glad to see the back of them. It is odd that the 8am train to work is a relatively modern train so I can spend the first half hour of my day with my laptop writing or blogging, but on the return journey it is always a Pacer, with no space and certainly no tables.
The Campaign for Better Transport put forward well-researched arguments demonstrating that over the last 20 years, the Northern franchise has seen very low levels of investment and consequently has not been able to provide quality trains or a reliable service. In 2013, as an annual season ticket holder between York and Leeds, I even got a free weekend's travel from Northern as an apology for the number of trains which were late or cancelled due to faults with the old and poorly maintained rolling stock. (Having researched how far I could travel from York using ONLY Northern trains, I spent a wonderful May bank holiday weekend in the Peak District with my husband - thanks Northern!) This needs to change.
The third piece of good news comes in the form of a new report from the Northern Electrification Taskforce. This sets out how electrifying the whole rail network in the North of England will deliver considerable benefits to travellers, journey times and the economy as a whole, helping to create a "Northern Powerhouse". The Harrogate Line was put forward as one of the top priorities for electrification within the next investment period, with MPs recommending immediate funding in 2015/16 to develop the business case and feasibility. This will be helped by the previous work done by WSP on behalf of the Harrogate Chamber of Commerce, which demonstrated a very good benefit:cost ratio of >3 for electrifying the line, dualling it and providing a modern signalling system (that is, one which doesn't require the man in the signal box at Poppleton to physically pull various levers to set the points and change the signals after each train goes past).
Harrogate and Knaresborough's current MP Andrew Jones chaired the Task Force and said: “We have placed economic growth at the heart of this project and been working on the premise that all the lines of the north would be electrified, it is only a question of when. It is a report from the north for the north."
I was really encouraged by the report, because it set out a vision for a different way of doing things, one where the North of England is well connected and works together as a region able to counterbalance the overheated London and South East markets. I'm a Northerner at heart, and I want the whole area to thrive rather than being left to struggle on, underfunded and unloved, while London becomes ever more powerful.
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