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<p>The Government is committed to improving connectivity within the North of England,
and between the North and the rest of England. Once the £380m scheme to upgrade the
A1 between Leeming and Barton is completed in spring 2018, there will be a continuous
motorway link between London and Tyne and Wear. The £61m Coal House to Metro Centre
improvement scheme has already improved journey times on the A1 Newcastle Gateshead
Western Bypass, and further phases are under development, along with a scheme to dual
more of the A1 in Northumberland. East to west connectivity will be improved by the
commitment to complete the dualling of the A66 and improve junctions on the A69 around
Hexham.</p><p> </p><p>Rail connectivity will be improved by the new Northern and TransPennine
Express franchises, which will provide new trains, more than 500 new carriages, room
for 40,000 extra passengers and more than 2,000 extra services a week, by 2020. As
part of this, the frequency of Transpennine trains between Newcastle and York/Leeds/Manchester
will increase from one to two trains per hour. Services on the East Coast Main Line
will be improved in 2018 when the introduction of new Azuma trains will provide over
12,000 extra seats.</p><p> </p><p>The Department awaits Transport for the North’s
draft Strategic Transport Plan which will set out their aims for further improving
transport connectivity in the North.</p><p> </p>
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