“Decrepit trains such as the Pacers, which are literally ancient buses on rails, are not a fair way for people in the North to get to and from work.”
The words of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg who is hosting the Northern Futures summit with Centre for Cities in Leeds to bring together hundreds of people who are passionate about creating an economic core in the north.
As the Liberal Democrat leader becomes the latest of Westminster’s Politicians to venture into this part of the world, he will announce today better trains for Northern cities to end the misery of overcrowding including the cutting of the Manchester to Leeds and Sheffield journey times to 40 minutes by 2025 and electrified cross-Pennine links between Liverpool and Hull by 2025.
Clegg will say that the North needs improved transport now.
“The roads and railway lines connecting our great northern cities have seen improvements in recent years, but I want more. Much more.”
On the subject of the much maligned Pacer Trains he adds:
Ancient rolling stock and lines that have not been upgraded in 30 years are not fit for a 21st century metropolis……They would not be deemed acceptable on London commuter lines, and they are not acceptable in the North.
Today’s announcement follows the Deputy Prime Minister’s ambitions for a new way of boosting tourism in the North
London has 4.5 times more international visitors than the North of England as a whole. Scotland has twice as many tourists as Yorkshire or the entire North West.
London is not this country’s only tourist destination the North boasts stunning countryside, history and culture, yet, 30 per cent of UK visitors chose not to travel beyond London because they simply didn’t know what there was to see outside the capital.
£10m of government money is being made available to back proposals for a clear strategy for tourism in the North as a whole.
According to Clegg,
‘It’s absurd that our great North is missing out on visitors when it boasts such stunning countryside, history and culture. Through the Northern Futures project, I asked people what our Northern cities needed in order to compete globally, and to grow.
‘Your resounding call is clear – a strong Northern future relies on putting the North back on the map: a top tourist destination.”
