The GTMC has hit out after the government announced it would be reviewing plans for the £38.5 billion upgrade of the UK’s rail network.
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced yesterday that the improvement programme would be reviewed and projects such as the electrification of routes between London and Sheffield, and Leeds and Manchester would be put on hold.
GTMC chief executive Paul Wait called the move “incredibly frustrating” for both business travellers based in northern England and “those across the UK with a commercial interest in the region who were expecting Network Rail and the government to keep their promises on modernisation plans.”
“The GTMC welcomes the upgrade of the Great Western mainline but questions how much longer the modernisation of Britain’s railways will be constantly held back by political, operational and financial mismanagement,” added Wait.
“For the UK economy to grow in the 21st century it needs a modern rail network to match. This requires investment and action in the short term so that we can reap the economic benefits in the long term.”
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