Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which organisations are responsible for drawing up proposals for a new high-speed railway line between Leeds, Bradford and Manchester; and what is (1) the timetable, and (2) the budget, for that work.

The Department for Transport and Transport for the North (TfN) are working in partnership to develop proposals for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), to improve connectivity between the main cities of the North, including between Manchester and Leeds.

A range of proposals are being considered which will form the basis of the business case for NPR, which is due at the end of 2018. Throughout this work, TfN are engaging with Local Authority Partners across the North including the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

The Government is supporting TfN throughout this phase of the work with £60 million of funding from the Transport Development Fund.