THE GREAT NORTHERN RAIL BETRAYAL

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january 2022 :: RMTnews 10 RMT has described the government’s long anticipated U-turn on promises to build the vital Eastern leg of the HS2 project and the cancelling of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) as a “great northern rail betrayal”. The long-awaited Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) was finally published late last year after 12 months of delay and it set out the future of the country's major projects such as High Speed 2 (HS2) and NPR. Government plans mean that the vital Eastern Leg of the HS2 project will be scrapped and that a new trans- Pennine line between Manchester and Leeds, a key element of Northern Powerhouse Rail, will also not now be built. It is the latest move that tears up the Tories levelling up agenda and climate change commitments following the conclusion of the COP26 climate talks. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that it was no surprise that the announcement was made after COP26 as the cancelling of the Eastern leg of the HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail projects will become known as the great northern rail betrayal and a betrayal of commitments to fight climate change. “Cancelling these absolutely vital rail projects is not just a kick in the teeth for the people of the North that have been promised mass rail investment for decades, whilst seeing very little delivered, but also for future generations of this entire country that are relying on our political leaders to make the decisions and commit the investment we need in rail and public transport to stop the worst impacts of climate change. “Our climate and communities cannot afford false political choices between different rail projects when what we need is all these projects to go ahead and a historic mass investment in our railways that gets people out of cars and trains and onto and public transport but, instead, we get more Tory austerity, cutbacks and attacks on rail workers jobs and rail services. “Public transport investment pays for itself through the economic benefits it brings and it’s time to the government took a proper long- term approach that reflects that fact,” he said. A recent report by the Rail Industry Association showed that for every £1 spent in rail, £2.50 of income was generated in the wider economy, compared to £2.20 in 2016. Northern Leaders grouped in Transport for the North (TfN) which includes Metro Mayors, Council Leaders and representatives of Local Enterprise Partnerships covering the whole of the North convened in Leeds to respond to the government’s Integrated Rail Plan. The Transport for the North Board expressed its disappointment and dismay at the inadequacy of the IRP. It said that the plans as proposed were unacceptable to the North and noted that the proposals breach the THE GREAT NORTHERN RAIL BETRAYAL Union slams Tory government cancellation of key rail projects in the north of England