Bradford's "split" rail system has for a long time been a cause of consternation for many.

There are sporadic suggestions about how to feasibly connect the Interchange with Forster Square, but the fact is that the opportunity arose - and was missed - back in the Victorian era, when the city fathers chose to have two stations on either side of the city centre, and it is something we now have to live with.

However, a new report into transport in the UK points out what a lot of people locally have said before - that as the tenth largest UK city, Bradford's rail links do not really come up to what is expected of such a metropolis.

We are also having to put up with longer journey times - on average, two minutes a mile from Bradford to Manchester, compared to the much faster 90 seconds a mile to Manchester from Leeds, York, Huddersfield and Hull.

But one nugget of hope to come from this report is that the problems with Bradford's rail network have at least been recognised - and could come in for extra funding.

The report, written by HS2 chairman David Higgins, calls for Bradford to be made a priority when it comes to dishing out funds to improve the rail network.

There have been improvements to Bradford's services to London, but with talk of the so-called Northern Powerhouse, it is as important that East-West links are boosted as much, if not more.

Trans-Pennine traffic will be vital for the success of the Northern Powerhouse project to connect the northern cities, and Bradford must be at the heart of this, with the appropriate and necessary infrastructure.