Cost of NPR jumps by 15%, as Shapps tries to take control

Rail

20 February 2021

The map shows TfN’s thinking about the Northern Powerhouse Rail network in early 2019. The lime-coloured lines are new lines, including Liverpool to Warrington and then linking into HS2, and a new line between Manchester and Leeds via a new Bradford station. The magenta lines are major upgrades. The numbers 1-6 indicate junctions between NPR?and HS2.

The Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) programme has been hit by a 15 per cent increase to its estimated costs, raising more questions about the programme’s future.

News of the cost rise appears in a paper presented to Transport for the North’s board this week. The papers also report that transport secretary Grant Shapps has asked TfN to delay submitting its strategic outline case for NPR until after the Government publishes its Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) for the Midlands and the...