Our plan for the North
Transport for the North (TfN) provides one voice for the North’s citizens and businesses on pan-regional transport investment priorities.
We know that an efficient, high quality, safe, integrated, and decarbonised transport system that connects people and places is fundamental to everyday life. Better connectivity enables sustainable economic growth, decarbonisation of our transport system and increases opportunities for all.
With our second Strategic Transport Plan (STP) adopted by the TfN Board and submitted to the Secretary of State for Transport as statutory advice, we have been clear what is needed to deliver better connectivity for our region. The STP captures how the North’s untapped economic, environmental and social potential can be realised through transport investment.
We will now turn our attentions, with our partners, to advise on how we make the STP reality for people and places. This business plan sets out where TfN will prioritise its work and resources over the coming year, in line with our two-year funding settlement from the Department for
Transport (DfT).
Our Business Plan 2024/25
Our Strategic Transport Plan
Transport for the North’s core statutory duty is to produce a Strategic Transport Plan on behalf of the North of England.
Its purpose is to set out, based on robust evidence, the strategic ambitions for transport, specifically pan-regional infrastructure priorities and issues that are common to many partners where there is efficiency in tackling them regionally.
The Plan presents a clear vision for the North’s transport network, supported by three strategic ambitions: Transforming economic performance, rapid decarbonisation of the transport network, and significantly reducing transport related social exclusion.
Our Strategic Transport Plan
Realising the potential of our region
The vision and strategic ambitions for the North in the Strategic Transport Plan is underpinned by a clear set of outcome measures and supporting metrics that will, collectively, guide TfN, government and partner authorities in its implementation.
The inclusion of clearly defined metrics underpinned by a robust monitoring and evaluation strategy and clear ‘golden thread’ between activities and outcomes represents a major step forward from the previous STP, including:
- Including a “right share” metric that will support efforts to reduce car dependency and create the capacity required to accommodate growth on our public transport networks
- Explicitly recognise the scale of change required in accessibility required to unlock opportunity and reduce social exclusion
- Put in place a long-term ambition to double the share of freight carried by rail
- Adopting the “vision zero” approach to eliminating deaths on our major road network by 2050.
Shaping the future
TfN, as a statutory partner of the DfT, is here to enable delivery of transport infrastructure and services, in line with the ambitions of the STP.
So, as well as our advisory role, we are increasingly providing direct services – like our TAME work on IRP – to partners to facilitate implementation.
Rail reform is moving forward and TfN remains supportive of bringing track and train together in a way that simplifies the current working arrangements.
Taking our early thinking and feedback from partners and building on our accumulated experience of rail devolution over eight years, we will this year set out the North’s proposition for rail devolution.
Our Business Plan 2024/25
