The Guardian view on Labour’s plan for railways in the north: a slow train coming | Editorial

Proposals to relaunch Northern Powerhouse Rail are welcome and overdue. But passengers and commuters will believe it when they see itIn areas starved of the kind of investment taken for granted in the south-east, the miserable state of northern England’s railways has long been a source of anger and indignation. One analysis of Treasury figures found that the equivalent of seven Elizabeth lines could have been built in the north, if levels of funding devoted to London’s transport needs had been replicated there. Instead, an estimated £140bn shortfall means that the 35-mile trip from Liverpool to Manchester can take more than twice as long as the 42-mile journey from London to Reading.Plans to resuscitate the Northern Powerhouse Rail project (NPR), unveiled on Tuesday by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, are therefore welcome and overdue. The government has committed to developing a three-stage plan to upgrade rail connections from the west coast to the north-east. No doubt mindful of the political threat posed to Labour by Reform in “red wall” seats, Sir Keir Starmer hailed the moment as a turning point, observing that northerners had “been let down by broken promises” in the past.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...