Yorkshire mayors meet in Sheffield to ‘drive the change’ for rail improvements
The White Rose Rail Board is chaired by the former Sheffield MP and Home Secretary, Lord David Blunkett, who last year authored the “Yorkshire Plan for Rail”.
Mayors from across Yorkshire have gathered in Sheffield for the first meeting of a new board tasked with progressing rail improvements in the region.
Oliver Coppard, the Mayor of South Yorkshire, said he, Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire, David Skaith, the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, and others, had discussed how they would “drive the change” in the region.
He said: “The Government have committed £45billion to the Northern Powerhouse Rail plan. Yorkshire’s at the very front of the queue and we want to make sure those projects are delivered as quickly as possible so we can all use a better rail service across the North.”
Phase one of Northern Powerhouse Rail is said to already be moving at pace.
Mr Coppard said: “The priorities for me are better connections to Leeds, better connections to Manchester, a station at Rotherham, improvements at Sheffield Station and the broader improvements that they will unlock.
“We can only really do improvements to things like Tram Train across South Yorkshire if we have better services at Sheffield Station, if we unlock the capacity there. So it’s all about connections between the different services and the different improvements.
“I know it’s not going to butter anyone’s parsnips today, but it’s about getting those rail services improved as quickly as possible and we have to go through this process step-by-step in order to get there.”
The South Yorkshire Mayor wouldn’t be drawn in offering any timelines on when people will begin to notice and feel improvements.
He said: “Rail projects take years and we want those projects delivered as quickly as possible, as effectively and efficiently as possible, on time, on budget, and so we’ve been meeting together to kick off that work.
“People’s parsnips will be buttered as quickly as we can, which means we’ve got to look at the quick wins, for instance at Sheffield Station. So we will do everything as quickly as possible, but frankly these things do take a long time to improve.
“It does take time. I’m not going to lie to anyone here, but you’ve got to start somewhere.”
The White Rose Rail Board is chaired by the former Sheffield MP and Home Secretary, Lord David Blunkett, who last year authored the “Yorkshire Plan for Rail”.