Policy paper

Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands

The government’s plan for delivering and sequencing major rail investment in the North and Midlands.

• From: Department for Transport
• Published: 18 November 2021
• Last updated: 22 March 2022 — See all updates

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Documents

Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands (web version)

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-2947-8, CP 490

PDF, 17.3 MB, 161 pages

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Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands (print version): cover

PDF, 4.66 MB, 2 pages

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Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands (print version): text

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-2947-8, CP 490

PDF, 164 MB, 160 pages

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Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands: correction slip

PDF, 126 KB, 2 pages

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Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands: technical annex

PDF, 1.08 MB, 29 pages

Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands: glossary

HTML

Details

The Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) sets out the government’s proposals to transform the rail network in the North and Midlands.

It is a £96 billion plan that outlines how major rail projects, including HS2 Phase 2b, Northern Powerhouse Rail and Midlands Rail Hub, will be delivered sooner than previous plans so that communities, towns and cities across the North and Midlands are better connected with more frequent, reliable and greener services and faster journey times.

The plan confirms that the government will:

• build 3 new high-speed lines including:

  • HS2 from Crewe to Manchester
  • HS2 from the West Midlands to East Midlands Parkway, enabling HS2 trains to join existing lines to serve Nottingham and Derby city centres (unlike original plans)
  • a new high-speed line between Warrington, Manchester and Yorkshire, as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail

• electrify and/or upgrade 3 existing main lines including:

  • the Transpennine Main Line between Manchester, Leeds and York
  • the Midland Main Line between London St Pancras, the East Midlands, and Sheffield
  • upgrading and improving line speeds on the East Coast Main Line

The plan also confirms that the government will progress options to complete the Midlands Rail Hub and spend £100 million to look at how best to take HS2 trains to Leeds, including assessing capacity at Leeds station and starting work on the West Yorkshire mass transit system.

Mott MacDonald assessed strategic alternatives to HS2 Eastern Leg and its report forms part of the evidence base for the Integrated Rail Plan.

We have corrected several inaccuracies in the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands. A correction slip has been published to indicate where these errors have been revised.

Published 18 November 2021
Last updated 22 March 2022 + show all updates

1. 22 March 2022

   A correction slip has been published covering revisions made in the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands.

2. 24 January 2022

   Added Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands: technical annex.

3. 18 November 2021

   First published.