The end of the year is a time for reflection, gratitude, and planning. As we prepare to turn the page on a new year it’s timely for Transport for the North (TfN) to take a moment to look back on 2022, a year in which we have continued to work with our partners to make the case for investment in the North’s infrastructure and services.
As always the year brought with it challenges but therein lay opportunities for TfN to speak with ‘one voice’ on the issues of pan-regional importance for the North.
Working collaboratively with our partners, using local knowledge TfN has continued to build on the foundations laid in previous years to inform the development of regional policy, putting the North on a journey towards transforming the way we live and work.
As we get ready for 2023, we take a month-by-month look back at the big issues we faced in 2022, the progress we made.
2022 kicked off on a high with Lord McLoughlin appointed as the independent Chair of Transport for the North. His experience at the heart of government having worked with the industry as Transport Secretary has helped the TfN Board push forward its vision and ambitious plans for the region.
January also saw the launch of a new podcast series: one that showcases the region’s business sector and highlights the importance of transport investment to enable growth and boost productivity.
Showcasing conversations with business and political leaders, the ‘Business Matters’ series shone a light on the North of England’s successes and ambitions and highlighted how improved transport and digital connectivity is essential to the region realising its economic potential.
Our Chief Executive Martin Tugwell continued his journey around TfN’s partners by visiting Lancashire and Cumbria. In addition to being the opportunity to see first-hand the benefits of schemes in delivery, the visits were an opportunity to make the case for an indicative funding envelope, one within which the business and political leaders on the TfN Board provide their advice to the Government on investment priorities.
We launched ‘Real Rail Stories’, a mini-series highlighting why passengers across the North choose the train and the benefits they experience as a result. From York to Oxenholme, Liverpool to Newcastle, and Preston to Doncaster, we spoke with passengers across the region capturing how the train benefits their lives. A key theme for TfN throughout the year has been to highlight the strength of the rail recovery in the North, in sharp contrast to other parts of the country.
We published an Insights piece based on Labour Market Overview (at that time) by the ONS, which looked at how the labour market has changed two years on from the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile work on updating the Northern Powerhouse Independent Economic Review continued: TfN’s work on the economy continues to be a key foundation on which the STP is built.
Martin Tugwell welcomed the Queen’s Speech, which included references to improving transport and delivering on the levelling up agenda.
We also highlighted the conditional outputs of the Major Roads Network –a useful way to set out a vision of what the road network of the North needs to deliver. They also allow us to benchmark the network against the outcomes that are vital for economic growth.
Also, in May we participated in the first ever STB7 conference, an opportunity for Sub-national Transport Bodies across the country to set out to a wider audience the outputs of their technical work and strategic thought leadership. In many ways the conference served to highlight the emergence of STBs as regional centres of excellence.
Using funding secured from the Department for Transport we launched the Connected Mobility Hub service, through TfN will provide support for at least five key projects. Our Connected Mobility Hub offers ‘clear and authoritative’ guidance specifically targeted at helping the North’s Local Transport Authorities upskill their local resources and encourage a more standardised approach to technological deployments.
We celebrated Pride Month and spotlighted our Skills and Development Manager, Ged Kavanagh who gave us a candid Insight on what Pride means to him.
In July we welcomed the report of the House of Commons Transport Select Committee into the government’s Integrated Rail Plan. TfN’s Chairman had given evidence to the Committee in February, building on our written evidence and the Committee’s report served to vindicate many of TfN’s concerns expressed at the time the IRP was published. We await with interest the government’s response to the Committee’s report when it is published in 2023.
TfN published its 2022/23 Business Plan following the Board’s approval of the delayed Budget. In it we set out our vision to unlock the full potential of the North of England by developing our transport infrastructure and services as a system that is user-centred, place-based and outcome focused.
We also launched our #NorthBased campaign in support of the four shortlisted locations in the North of England – Crewe, Doncaster, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and York – bidding to be the new home of Britain’s railways. The campaign featured several Northern voices including: Cheshire East Council deputy leader Cllr Craig Browne, North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll, North Yorkshire County Council leader Cllr Carl Les and South Yorkshire Combined Authority Mayor Oliver Coppard.
We published our landmark research into Transport Related Social Exclusion. This revealed that 3.3 million people from across the North of England live in areas where there is a significant risk of transport-related social exclusion, as well as highlighting that communities right across the North faced such challenges. TfN, in conjunction with Social Research Associates and Temple, engaged with over 3,000 members of the public and experts from across the North to understand the impacts of the transport system on everyday life. Following this, TfN developed a data tool to measure the risk of TRSE across England – analysing access to jobs, education, healthcare and key services, and the vulnerability of the population to social exclusion.
The arrival of autumn heralded party conference season, and we held a fringe event at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool at which we focused on how better connected communities are central to achieving levelling up.
A letter to then Prime Minister, Liz Truss, set out in more detail a set of immediate priorities that the incoming Government might focus on.
We held our fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham with Mayor Ben Houchen (Tees Valley) and Andrew Jones MP (Harrogate and Knaresborough) appearing on a panel with our Chair Lord McLoughlin.
Concerns about the level of train cancellations and overall reliability is at its highest level on record. Performance by Avanti on the West Coast Main Line and TransPennine Express (TPE) are of particular concern, not just in terms of disruption to travellers, but also the impact it has on investor confidence in the North. Our Chair Lord McLoughlin calls on the government to urgently intervene to help address the unacceptable levels of performance on the rail network in the North of England.
TfN also called for a ‘Rail Academy of the North’ to be set up to fast-track the training of new drivers to help address the systemic problem, whilst also calling for the government to empower the North’s train operators to enter into discussions with their Unions on short term measures – such as Rest Day Working – that will help improve the situation.
Our Socially Inclusive Transport Strategy went into consultation. This strategy provides an evidence-based policy agenda for achieving a more equal, effective, and inclusive transport system across the North. The strategy builds on the research that TfN published in September 2022.
We launched our cutting-edge regional Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) Framework. The framework provides a route map that TfN’s partners can use to deliver an efficient, attractive and inclusive EV charging network. It also identifies the importance of TfN working with other areas of public sector policy given the significant requirements placed on the electricity grid and energy networks arising from the electrification of road vehicles.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn Statement setting out the government’s priorities as “stability, growth and public services”. He also committed to “core Northern Powerhouse Rail” and “High Speed 2 to Manchester”. Whilst welcoming the funding (particularly at a time of financial pressures elsewhere) Transport for the North remains committed to achieving ‘NPR in full’ as being central to the long-term ambition of realising the North’s economic potential.
November also saw us announce the appointment of three new Directors: Rail and Roads Director (and Deputy CEO) – Darren Oldham, Strategy, Policy and Communications Director – Katie Day and Finance Director – Paul Kelly.
We launched our Freight and Logistics Strategy report which showcases the importance of the sector as a facilitator for economic growth and highlights ways we can support the move to decarbonising the movement of freight.
The first pan-Northern freight and logistics strategy of this type, it complements our Strategic Transport Plan by setting out a multimodal freight strategy for the North of England that meets the current and future requirements of our region and the UK economy.
With concerns continuing across the North about poor performance the North’s rail network, our Chairman, Lord McLoughlin, and Chief Executive, Martin Tugwell gave evidence to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee session looking into rail services disruption. The Committee heard how the disruption is estimated to be costing the North £8m per week, or over £0.4bn in the year. And looking ahead, the speakers set out to the Committee the risk that the approach to inflationary pressures may disproportionately affect the North.
Stay tuned for our look ahead to 2023 in more detail, and get all the latest updates and discussion through our Social Media channels and podcast.