Colin Elliff, speaker at HADRAG’s AGM, leads Network North Ltd along with Quentin MacDonald. Both are graduate chartered engineers (BSc, CEng); Colin, based in North Yorkshire, is a civil engineer so he knows what is possible in terms of building new railways. Colin’s group has been using the name Network North since early 2019.
The government recently (October 2023) created another Network North, the billed cost-cutting substitute for Northern Powerhouse Rail. The October 2023 government proposal is described by Colin’s group as “a ragbag of road and rail schemes locates all across the country making a mockery of the name Network North”.
Colin and Quentin’s Network North Ltd has designed a rail network that “fully interlinks all of the principal cities and conurbations lying in the Northern Powerhouse – home to 16 million people”. Their flyer says: “Network North Ltd has been formed to promote the designs of Network 2020 Ltd which are the work of professional railway engineers. ”
For an overview see schematic map.
The map (this is the latest version) shows a new route from Halifax to Rochdale, both of which stations would be served, giving a journey time of about 30 minutes Bradford to Manchester. We think that includes stops at Halifax and Rochdale. It also shows a reopened the Woodhead Route linking Liverpool with both Sheffield and Leeds. Some of us have mixed feelings about that.
Benefits of whole plan
The new “Calder Valley Corridor” line would be in tunnel for maybe about 20km (12½ mile) from near Halifax to near Littleborough. Halifax to Manchester would take about 20 minutes, so the line through Rochdale would also need a substantial upgrade. Where would the tunnel start? Halifax station? Salterhebble? Would there need to be a new viaduct across the Calder Valley somewhere near Copley?
The flier list benefits of the whole scheme from Liverpool to Hull and Newcastle as linking all Northern Powerhouse cities using: 272km of new railway, 45 km of reopened routes, 350 km of existing railway upgraded.
Cost has been estimated by rail consultant Michael Byng at £40 billion. The package is described as:
- meeting all Transport for the North targets for intercity journey times;
- transforming connectivity and capacity – including “local capacity dividend”;
- integrates with High Speed UK scheme for national high speed network;
- delivers optimised national integrated rail plan, outperforming official proposals by an order of magnitude, with far greater connectivity locally, regionally and nationally, and far greater journey time reductions.
Worth noting that the Network North Ltd map shows the Calder Valley route between Halifax and Preston linked to Huddersfield and on to Sheffield. No journey times are indicated for this corridor. Would these services would run via the existing Penistone line? HADRAG would like to see services from Bradford to Sheffield via the Crigglestone curve and Barnsley. These would take significantly longer than the Network North proposed Bradford-Sheffield service, but would give a much needed semi-fast link south from Calderdale. Brighouse-Sheffield journey could be about 50 minutes with existing tracks. Network North Ltd shows a Bradford-Sheffield journey of 27 minutes via Dewsbury (“Interchange”). That must involve a route through the Spen Valley and a new high speed line, joining another one from Leeds, with a delta junction somewhere near Barnsley. The delta junction would link Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester (via Woodhead) routes. This ideas goes back decades and has its strengths but an also a big environmental impact.
One thing not on Colin’s map is the 2023 government-proposed Bradford-Huddersfield line, rumoured to be using the old formation through Bailiff Bridge. Part of the other Network North and probably a judicious omission.
Is this all fantasy? Certainly it is not on any political agenda right now (though the line through Bailiff Bridge might be). What becomes of NPR and either brand of Network North remains to be seen.
HADRAG has never been an advocate of long term mega-projects. We want improvements in the next few years on our existing routes, including the route through Hebden Bridge to Manchester serving all the intermediate stations. We need trains with more carriages, so people do not have to stand on Sunday mornings! More services on the Brighouse line, and Elland station. All this can benefit present passengers – actual and would be – in the foreseeable future.
Halifax and District Rail Action Group 