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<p>Rail links to and from Huddersfield will benefit from the investment the Government
is already making in the North of England rail network in support of its vision of
a Northern Powerhouse. The Government has committed to the Northern Hub and electrification
programmes, and capacity improvements at Huddersfield station. The new East Coast
franchise awarded in November 2014 will lead to Huddersfield being introduced as a
new destination for Intercity East Coast services with one service to and from London
per day from 2019. The Government has also required bidders for the new Northern and
TransPennine Express franchises to replace outdated trains, add a third more capacity
and invest in stations. In addition the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership
(LEP) has been provisionally allocated over £780m of Government Growth Deal funding
over 20 years towards the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s multimodal West Yorkshire
plus Transport Fund, from which priorities for local transport investment will be
determined.</p><p> </p><p>The Government established Transport for the North (TfN)
last year to formalise cooperation with Northern City Regions and LEPs on transport
issues in the North. The aim is for TfN to speak with one voice to Government on the
transport priorities for the whole of the North. The Department is working closely
with TfN and Rail North to develop and prioritise the rail options so that the first
tranche is ready for consideration as part of the Government’s Rail Investment Strategy
for the next rail investment period (CP6, 2019 – 2024). The Government is providing
TfN with a development budget of up to £12.5m in 2015/16 to support its wider strategy
development work.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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