PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Public Transport: Yorkshire and the Humber (13 July 2015)

This Government is investing significantly to improve public transport in Yorkshire and the Humber, including:

• providing transport authorities in Yorkshire and the Humber with £97.9m of Integrated Transport Block funding over the period 2015/16 to 2017/18, with a further £97.9m provisionally allocated for the period 2018/19 to 2020/21 to take forward local schemes with their areas,

• £10.3m for two new railway stations at Apperley Bridge and Kirkstall Forge on the busy Airedale commuter route into Leeds.

• £173.5m towards the £250m Leeds NGT scheme, the first modern trolleybus scheme in the UK.

• £15.9m for the South Yorkshire Bus Rapid Transit (North) bus priority infrastructure between Sheffield and Rotherham, including a new highway link under the M1 at Tinsley Viaduct.

• £12.4m for the Leeds Station Southern Access scheme which will provide providing a new entrance to the south of Leeds Station providing better access to the South Bank development and regeneration area.

• £9.6m for three Local Sustainable Transport schemes across Yorkshire and the Humber in 2015/16.

• requiring bidders for the new Northern and TransPennine Express rail franchises to replace outdated trains, add a third more capacity and invest in stations. This includes specifying an increase from 2 to 3 trains per hour between Bradford and Manchester via Halifax from 2019 (Monday-Saturday) and an increased Sunday frequency – from two hourly to hourly – from Bradford to Skipton and Ilkley.

As part of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Bradford will benefit from the £39.4m Integrated Transport Block funding allocated to the Combined Authority for the period 2015/16 to 2017/18 (with a further £39.4m provisionally allocated for the period 2018/19 to 2020/21), out of the total allocated to Yorkshire and the Humber. In addition, through the Leeds City Region Growth Deal, Government is providing up to £781m over 20 years for the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund which will support transport schemes across the area, including improvements at rail stations and bus corridors.

The Government is working in partnership with Transport for the North to establish a clear, long-term transport vision for the North of England to support a Northern Powerhouse that is shared by all parties, and a portfolio of prioritised transport investment opportunities.