Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to reduce train journey times between Hull and (a) Liverpool and (b) Leeds; and if he will make a statement.

There are a number of investments to increase the overall capacity and improve journey times between Hull and Liverpool via Leeds.

In May 2014, faster services with a 15 minute journey time saving began running between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria.

In 2015, longer trains started and in October of this year, we will have completed building an additional platform and track on this route to allow fast trains to pass slow trains.

We are also rebuilding Liverpool Lime Street to enable more and longer trains to serve that station, with three services a day to Scotland from December 2018 and extra trains to Manchester and Bradford by December 2019.

Network Rail are currently on site to improve the track, reducing journey time savings on the section between Manchester and Stalybridge by May 2018.

Additional through trains will run between Manchester and Leeds from 2018, with new build 5 carriage trains starting to replace the 3-car trains currently in operation.

Northern and TransPennine Express, will deliver brand new trains, totalling more than 500 new carriages. All existing trains will be refurbished, many more of the trains to Hull from Manchester will be doubled in capacity, and all the out-dated Pacer trains will be withdrawn from service. In total there will be room for 40,000 extra passengers and more than 2,000 extra services a week across all of the North.