North made to wait and wait for rail future to arrive

Northern Powerhouse Rail proposal is the worst example of kicking a can down a track Simon Calder has ever seen

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"A transformation in transport connectivity between the cities of the north is vital to realising their potential to become a 'northern powerhouse' for the UK's economy," the transport secretary said.

"Passengers, businesses, local communities and their representatives across the north told us that railway services must be revitalised and expanded."

Few would disagree. The minister in question, however, was not the current transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, but Patrick McLoughlin. He was speaking in 2015, at a time when the coalition government was proposing High Speed 3: a bold new east-west line through the Pennines to connect Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford and Leeds.

Fast forward (not something that happens much on trains in the north) to 2026, and here's the incumbent transport secretary speaking to Times Radio: "People in the north of England for too long have had to put up with second-rate rail systems. They have got creaking Victorian infrastructure, slow trains, poor reliability, and this has to change."

Alexander says the latest plan has four stages:

• Improving links between Leeds and Bradford, York and Sheffield

• Building a new line between Liverpool, Warrington, Manchester airport and Manchester

• A new trans-Pennine route, as originally envisaged with HS3