A Bradford NHS worker has formed a petition calling on northern MPs to challenge the Government on what she states are its broken promises regarding Northern Powerhouse Rail.

This comes after the Government decided not to go ahead with its proposed improvements to Bradford rail services, which would have seen a new train station for the city, and improved connectivity throughout the West Yorkshire region.

Elinor Hewitt, who manages surgical and gastro services for Bradford Teaching Hospitals, first found issue with the rail services when she moved jobs, and began commuting from Leeds to Bradford.

“It's absolutely awful to be honest, I don’t think I've caught a train, at all, since I started my job over there, that has actually been on time” said Ms Hewitt, “People will continue to use the public services because they don’t have another choice, but it's absolutely exhausting, day in and day out”

As of Thursday afternoon, her petition has gained over 1,341 signatures.

When asked about why she believes the petition has appealed to so many people, Ms Hewitt said: “I think there's a number of factors, but its broken promises, how many years have we been told that these improvements will be made, and it just doesn’t happen, we always get these grand promises of how good things can be, and then its gradually pulled back further and further.”

The Government has insisted that it has not broken promises when changes were announced to previous plans regarding Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Ms Hewitt, however, has noted the effect she believes these changes could have on the possibility of potential employers coming to Bradford. “Without having that ready public access which transport links provide, how are we going to expect businesses, jobs, all of those things to be attracted here?” she said.

Ms Hewitt also described how rail issues have affected her ability to enjoy life outside of work.

“It effects people culturally as well” she said, “It's not just about getting to work, it's what you can do in your free time. That’s a whole part of this levelling up thing, that people have full, rich and cultural lives.

“I've got two young kids, and to have a day out in West Yorkshire, the planning, the expense, the time consumed with trying to get to places that are actually not that far away, it's awful.”

Ms Hewitt is also a strong believer that action taken in Bradford could be beneficial for the entire country.

“Having that investment, and the government showing that it is willing to put the effort into areas like this, that would have a knock-on effect in other areas,” she said, “and galvanize people to say ‘well, actually, that could happen here as well.’

“If it doesn’t happen here though, why would it happen anywhere else? It has to happen here because that was the promise.”

The petition can be found at https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/build-the-northern-powerhouse-rail-in-full-bring-high-speed-rail-to-our-cities-and-towns