As 2021 comes to a close, we take a look back at how the year shaped the North’s transport system, and how Transport for the North continued to put the region at the top of the national agenda.
The past 12 months have presented a number of challenges for the North of England.
Our communities and businesses have had to cope with the impact of Covid-19, but the return of passengers to our rail services served to highlight the continued importance of transport in connecting people and places with opportunities and services. Time and again we’ve seen how investment in our transport system – both road and rail – is critical in addressing existing barriers to realising opportunities, as well as enabling growth.
Our work as Transport for the North (TfN) is grounded in our understanding of what is needed to unlock sustainable economic growth.
Our ethos of evidence-based decision-making shapes our work and underpins our advice to the Government. And by speaking as One Voice for the North we have continued to make the case for investment in the North that will reduce inequalities within our communities and level up the UK.
As we get ready for 2022, we take a month-by-month look back at the big issues we faced in 2021, the announcements we marked, and the progress we made.
The year 2021 didn’t get off to the most positive start, with funding cuts for TfN resulting in the closure of our Integrated and Smart Travel (IST) programme. With the Department for Transport (DfT) taking on a leadership role nationally TfN has retained a digital strategy lead to work with our partners in order to ensure IST aims remain at the forefront of our work.
Following the UK’s third national lockdown we reconvened the North of England Contingency Group to help tailor and protect rail services for essential users, amid much lower levels of demand.
We launched the Northern Evidence Academic Forum to help inform transport investment decision-making across the North. The Forum fosters knowledge sharing to enhance understanding of a broad range of social and economic issues that are affected by, or can have influence over, transport and other infrastructure projects.
Royal Assent was given to the HS2 Phase 2a Bill (West Midlands to Crewe), confirming that the high-speed line will reach Cheshire, bringing jobs and supporting economic growth.
Our Members agreed the North’s preferred route for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), a co-ordinated package of investment in new lines, significant upgrades and electrification.
Work on our transport-related social exclusion project began. With its focus on understanding the scale of the challenge facing the North, this work will enable us to identify the need for investment to enable people to make the most of the opportunities and community around them.
We also issued our response to the interim findings of the Union Connectivity Review, in which we highlighted the role the North has to play in improving connectivity within and across the United Kingdom.
In April 2021 we found our new Chief Executive in Martin Tugwell. He started with us later that year on 2 August.
Our IST work continued when leading journey-planning app Citymapper began using a tool facilitated by TfN to make information on services and disruptions on bus, tram and ferry services available as open data.
Our 2021/22 Business Plan set out how strategic investment in transport can aid Covid-19 recovery, help deliver levelling-up, and support sustainable and inclusive growth to the benefit of the North, and the rest of the UK.
We responded to the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, welcoming the proposal to create a single ‘guiding mind’ in the form of Great British Railways. As we developed our thinking over the course of the year, we looked to build on the devolution that already exists in the form of Rail North Partnership to ensure that the North has a key role in shaping the future of our railway.
And an extra £317 million investment into the Transpennine Route Upgrade was announced, along with funding from the New Stations Fund for a new station at Thorpe Park in Leeds.
The public consultation on our Decarbonisation Strategy was launched, setting out an ambitious goal of near-zero carbon emissions from surface transport by 2045.
Our Future Travel Scenarios, which helped shape our work on decarbonisation, scooped the 2021 CIHT Transport Planning Award – the second time in a row we picked up the accolade having won in 2020 for our Strategic Transport Plan.
The Government published its Transport Decarbonisation Plan, setting out the Government’s commitments and actions to decarbonise the transport system: the plan set out the key role that TfN (and the other Sub-national Transport Bodies) has to play in delivering its ambition.
We welcomed Cllr Louse Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and & Chester council, as our Acting Chair.
Our visitor economy report revealed that with a value of £21.05 billion, our visitor economy accounted for 25% of all England’s tourism spend in 2019. It also served to highlight how the transport challenges facing visitors are similar to those faced by our residents and businesses, further emphasising the importance of investment in infrastructure and services.
We welcomed the Government’s £378 million plan for rail electrification in the North West between Lostock Junction and Wigan North Western.
Our third Annual Conference took place in Leeds, bringing together the region’s political and business leaders, stakeholder representatives and the public, to discuss key issues such as rail, funding, accessibility and decarbonisation.
We also launched the Northern Transport Charter, setting out the case for more devolution and a new approach to funding for the region: one that recognises that local leaders are best placed to shape the future of connectivity and prioritise strategic infrastructure requirements.
Our latest Northern Powerhouse Rail analysis revealed the extent of the transformational impact of NPR by mapping the improvement in connectivity for people and businesses, with significant benefits for the North-East and parts of Yorkshire.
Our User Insight report showed the importance of reliable and efficient transport to the North of England’s businesses.
The report found a heavy reliance on car as the dominant mode for commuting. Lack of access and provision of high-quality public transport, and in particular, the unreliability, cost, and lack of convenience of rail and bus travel relative to other modes, was cited as a constraint to using public transport more frequently.
Businesses responded positively to TfN’s planned road investments and rail investments, linking the North’s largest cities with each other and with the rest of the North.
The Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) was published in late 2021, and met with disappointment from across our region. Our Interim Chair Cllr Gittins branded it “woefully inadequate” and we issued statutory advice following the November Board meeting.
We welcomed the publication of the Union Connectivity Review, which reflects many of the key connectivity priorities we’ve proposed.
Our Transport Decarbonisation Strategy was finalised and published, the first regional strategy of its kind. It highlights the ambitions of the North of England in tackling carbon emissions, with our region aiming to go beyond national policy and meet targets sooner than the Government’s plans.
Martin Tugwell, Chief Executive at Transport for the North, said: “The many challenges that 2021 brought to our region cannot be underestimated. The recovery in our rail services over the summer and into the autumn – which far outstripped the national average – serves to emphasise just how important our railway is to the future of the North.
“With both passenger numbers and freight services close to pre-pandemic levels, the case for investment in additional capacity remains strong. And we know that clarity on the long-term future of our strategic transport infrastructure generates confidence amongst investors.
“The disappointment in the Integrated Rail Plan was felt far and wide, and it is important that we continue to set out the case for the longer-term ambition set out in TfN’s preferred network. Where investment is committed then we will work with Government to ensure that it is delivered as planned. Indeed, the focus on delivery extends across the whole transport system as we look to unlock the North’s economic potential.
“Over the course of the year TfN continued to play a key role on behalf of the residents and businesses of the North. We continued to make the case for strategic transport investment based on our wealth of data and modelling expertise that enables us to set out the case in support of investment. We published our award-wining Future Travel Scenarios work, and also the first ever regional Transport Decarbonisation Strategy.”
“What we need to do now is look ahead to the potential of 2022. We remain passionate about the need for transport investment in the North of England, a passion that is driven by vision and ambition and underpinned by evidence. We know that building a new North can be achieved, and that it will benefit us all, so we go into the next 12 months determined to continue the journey that’s underway as we look to make a difference for our region.”
Stay tuned for our look ahead to 2022 in more detail, and get all the latest updates and discussion on our Twitter and podcast.