Passengers waiting for the train from Sherburn to York on 18 November were surprised to find the Prime Minister waiting on the platform to catch a train. Improved local rail services are all part of the Integrated Rail Plan announced by the Prime Minister during his visit.

Nigel Adams commented “I was delighted that the Prime Minister chose to visit Selby and Ainsty to announce the Integrated Rail Plan. When completed, rail users will benefit from faster journeys and more frequent services across the region as well as to London. The advantage over the previous plan to bring HS2 to Leeds is that these improvements will be delivered sooner and be of benefit to almost everybody who takes the train to go to work or travel for pleasure around the country”.

This is an Integrated solution and includes faster and more frequent service for rail users across the region.  Work to be undertaken under this plan includes:-

A contactless ticket system backed by a £360M investment making travelling simpler and more flexible across the region.

A Mass transit system around Leeds backed by an initial £100M

Quick win improvements around Leeds Station.

Faster journey times across the Pennines with journeys between Leeds and Bradford cut to as little as 12 Minutes. The upgrades also triple capacity between Leeds and Manchester and will cut journey times by a third.

Improvements to the East Coast Main Line which will deliver much increased capacity and significantly improved journey times to London as the recently delivered AZUMA trains will be able to travel at up to 140mph and cut journey times to London from York to as little as 1 hour 40 minutes.

Faster direct services between Selby and London via the East Coast Mainline.

The plan includes the proposal to bring HS2 services from London to Sheffield then includes further work to look at how best to take HS2 trains onward to Leeds.

“I am especially pleased that the Integrated Rail Plan can be delivered without the need for the unpopular HS2 spur which would have seen Church Fenton affected by a huge concrete viaduct which would have taken years to build and would have dominated the landscape near Church Fenton, Ulleskelf and Barkston Ash.”

“I would like to thank the Rail Ministers for their co-operation and engagement when I have met with to discuss alternatives for improving journey times, capacity and local services.”

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