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Title: Government slashes northern transport budget- Manchester Evening News and others Post by: grahame on January 15, 2021, 10:18:34 From the Manchester Evening News (https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/transport-for-north-funding-slashed-19624615)
Quote 'It looks like levelling down' - Government slashes northern transport budget and shelves London-style contactless rail ticketing It means plans to bring northern rail passengers in line with their London counterparts are scuppered, at least for now. Transport for the North, the body which oversees transport planning including the GBP-39bn Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme to cut journey times between big cities, will lose 40 per cent of its core funding and a fifth of its total annual support for the next financial year. The most significant let-down is the retraction of a promise of GBP-105m for smart ticketing. It's led northern leaders, who are seeking urgent talks with transport secretary Grant Shapps, to question Boris Johnson's election pledge to 'level up' the economy in the north and south. Whilst cast as a "North v South" cut in the article, is it really "London v the rest"? Ramisifications for WECA and for our SnTBs? Title: Re: Government slashes northern transport budget- Manchester Evening News and others Post by: TaplowGreen on January 15, 2021, 10:46:49 From the Manchester Evening News (https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/transport-for-north-funding-slashed-19624615) Quote 'It looks like levelling down' - Government slashes northern transport budget and shelves London-style contactless rail ticketing It means plans to bring northern rail passengers in line with their London counterparts are scuppered, at least for now. Transport for the North, the body which oversees transport planning including the GBP-39bn Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme to cut journey times between big cities, will lose 40 per cent of its core funding and a fifth of its total annual support for the next financial year. The most significant let-down is the retraction of a promise of GBP-105m for smart ticketing. It's led northern leaders, who are seeking urgent talks with transport secretary Grant Shapps, to question Boris Johnson's election pledge to 'level up' the economy in the north and south. Whilst cast as a "North v South" cut in the article, is it really "London v the rest"? Ramisifications for WECA and for our SnTBs? Every sector, and every region had better prepare for a hammering over the next few years. Transport is no exception. The pandemic is costing us an unprecedented fortune. Your point about portraying it as a North v South issue is well made however, it really shouldn't be. This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |