Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Bradford will be included in any future northern high speed rail line across the Pennines.

The plans are at an early stage. The Government has asked Sir David Higgins to produce a plan for bringing the benefits of high speed rail to the North more quickly, as well as initial proposals for faster east-west connections – including options on route, timescales and cost, and to deliver it in the Autumn. This will start the process by which we can have a proper debate about the future of rail connectivity in the North.