Delays to a major transport overhaul that could make Newcastle the headquarters of the UK’s train system are “disappointing”, council bosses say.
The city was one of six to make the shortlist to house Great British Railways (GBR), with hopes that the bid could bring hundreds of new jobs to Tyneside. But transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan told MPs this week that the formation of GBR, which was due to be up and running by early 2024, has been pushed back.
The Conservative MP for Berwick said that the Government had abandoned its plan to introduce a Transport Bill during the current parliamentary session because legislation to deal with the energy crisis is being prioritised. She made the announcement on Wednesday in front of the Commons’ Transport Select Committee – though it is unclear what will happen to the reforms now, following Liz Truss’ resignation as Prime Minister.
Read More: Labour demands end to 'Tory horror show' as calls for general election grow after Liz Truss quits
Newcastle has been in competition with Birmingham, Crewe, Derby, Doncaster, and York to become the base for GBR.
Coun Alex Hay, the city council’s cabinet member responsible for jobs, said he was still “confident” of Newcastle’s chances given Tyneside’s deep connections to the birth of the railways almost 200 years ago. The former site of the Robert Stephenson & Co. Locomotive Works, which was established in 1823 as the first manufacturing facility of its kind in the world, has been touted as a possible location for the GBR headquarters.
Coun Hay said: “Delaying the legislation to bring about the formation of Great British Railways is naturally disappointing. Newcastle remains on the shortlist of six cities to host the national headquarters and we are confident of our chances given our long and proud association with the railways.
“We are a growing city and we know that we can compete with any other in terms of winning jobs and investment.”
Ms Trevelyan said on Wednesday that the delays to the rail network overhaul, which would see GBR absorb state-owned management company Network Rail and issue contracts to private companies to run trains, would likely be just “a few months”. Those remarks, of course, came before Ms Truss was forced to resign on Thursday – with a new Prime Minister now set to be named within the next week.
Ms Trevelyan said: “The challenges of things like the energy legislation we’ve got to bring in and various others has meant that we have lost the opportunity to have that in this third session. What we are continuing to pitch for will be what I would call a narrow Bill around the future of transport technologies, the legislation around things like e-scooters.”
She added: “That bigger piece around rail transformation in particular, we will need to look at in the fourth session.”
Andy Bagnall, chief executive of industry body Rail Partners, said: “It is disappointing the legislation to create GBR will be delayed, but we look forward to working with the Secretary of State, rail minister and Great British Railways Transition Team’s leadership to progress reform in its absence. It is critical there is not a long hiatus and there are immediate steps that can be taken now, such as switching on revenue incentives in national rail contracts and feeding back to the market on passenger service contract development, which can accelerate growth and underpin a reinvigorated public-private partnership.”
Read More:
- 'Unwelcome' fare hike for bus passengers as major operator Go North East announces new ticket prices
- Staff working with refugees accused of 'wanting to just clock off' after damning Newcastle hotel probe
- New Grey Street vision unveiled – as council confirms plans to remove bollards and axe parking spaces
- Newcastle city centre bar granted later closing time after vowing to avoid student bar crawls
- MP warns that new Newcastle leisure centre plans 'undermined' by government chaos as costs rise to £26m
