A COUNCILLOR has demanded a closing of the gap in rail investment between the South and North of England.

It comes following the first phase of the 18 billion pound Elizabeth Line in London - which will connect Abbey Wood in southeast London to Paddington - opening today (March 24). Eventually, it will include connections to Heathrow Airport and Reading.

Councillor Matt Edwards, the Leader of the Green Group on Bradford Council, has called on the government to match this ambition in the North of England – especially in Bradford, which, in 2021, was revealed as the worst connected city in England.

In May, despite cross-party opposition from politicians, rail operator Northern reduced the number of connections in Bradford.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: A Northern train.A Northern train. (Image: Newsquest)

It meant services from Forster Square to Shipley, Ilkley and Skipton were reduced to one per hour.

Some services between Halifax, Bradford Interchange, Leeds and Hull were also affected.

Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore and West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin both voiced strong opposition to the cuts.

Northern maintains the new schedules are designed to deliver better reliability and punctuality for customers.

In light of the Elizabeth Line, Councillor Edwards feels this level of investment must be equalled for the North.

He also highlighted how Bradford, the fifth biggest city in the country, struggles to compete with much smaller towns elsewhere when it comes to rail connections.

Cllr Edwards said: “This government is constantly talking of levelling up, but there is a massive gulf between what is being spent in the South compared to cities like Bradford.

“To put this in comparison, if we were talking about the level of spending in London being replicated in Bradford, we wouldn’t just be talking about Northern Powerhouse rail stopping here or a new station, we’d be talking about our own “crossrail” project connecting Forster Square and Interchange. 

“This isn’t about cutting investment in the South; it’s about significantly increasing investment in the North to match it. Bradford is the fifth biggest city in the country, but our rail connections are worse than much smaller towns in the South East.”

Under the full Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) plans, a new high-speed, high-capacity rail line would have been built between Manchester and Leeds, with a stop at a new Bradford city centre station. However, these plans were scrapped last November by the Government in their Integrated Rail Plan.