Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of investment in Northern Powerhouse Rail since its inception.

As the table sets out below, Northern Powerhouse Rail has seen year on year increases in its development budget for 5 years. The Government recognises that there is an urgent need for rail investment to improve connectivity, journey times and frequency between Northern towns and cities.

In Summer 2019, it was agreed that the first stage of Northern Powerhouse Rail will be a new line between Leeds and Manchester. We continue to work with TfN and intend to announce the next steps shortly.