NORTHERN Powerhouse Rail (NPR) has received yet another boost after a Bradford MP managed to put the project back on the Government’s agenda.

Bradford East MP Imran Hussain pressed new Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, during his 'mini budget' in Parliament last Friday to include NPR as part of the major infrastructure projects that the Government wishes to accelerate.

Following the intervention, the Chancellor stated that infrastructure projects, such as the NPR project, are critically important to boosting the UK’s economic growth.

He also agreed to meet with Mr Hussain to discuss the scheme.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: A vision of what Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) in Bradford could look likeA vision of what Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) in Bradford could look like (Image: N/A)It comes after new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, committed to building NPR in full in July, if she got the top job.

There was widespread disappointment last November when it was announced as part of the Government’s long-awaited Integrated Rail Plan that a NPR line between Leeds and Manchester, via Bradford, had been scrapped.

This confirmed rumours and leaks that had been circulating for weeks prior to the release.

There were then reports in the summer that the levelling up agenda, which was a key promise at the 2019 general election, could be shelved after Boris Johnson’s departure.

But Ms Truss’s commitment presented a U-turn on that, after newspapers across the North, including the Telegraph & Argus, united to warn her and Rishi Sunak – the two MPs in the hunt for the leadership at the time – not to “turn their back” on the region once in Downing Street.

Leaders in the North hoped NPR - a high-speed, high-capacity rail line similar to HS2 and the Crossrail network in London - would link Manchester and Leeds with a stop at a new city centre station in Bradford.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Bradford East MP Imran HussainBradford East MP Imran Hussain (Image: N/A)

Mr Hussain has continually pressured Ministers to reverse their decision on NPR and look again at plans to build it in full through Bradford.

This latest example provides another step forward.

Mr Hussain said: “It’s simply impossible to underestimate just how important the building of Northern Powerhouse Rail through Bradford is for the district, as it demonstrates the Government’s commitment to Bradford and highlights that we are a key place to invest, to do business, and to invest, even before a single piece of track is even laid.

“I am therefore pleased that the new Chancellor has seen some sense and put Northern Powerhouse Rail, a project that everyone thought was dead after it was cancelled in November, back on their agenda.”

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