Graham has asked the Chancellor, in a question in the House of Commons, whether she will support the economic future of York, Beverley, Hull and the villages in between by supporting a new railway link, via Beverley, Market Weighton, Pocklington and Stamford Bridge.
The Chancellor took the opportunity to plug her recent announcement of £15 billion in transport schemes outside London, including a new tram system for Leeds, none of which improve rural connectivity.
The creation of the new line, restoring the link between the great university cities of York and Hull severed in 1965 as part of the Beeching Cuts, would relieve congestion and pressure on the A1079, create new travel to work areas for both cities and bring new economic opportunities to the villages of East Yorkshire and the Wolds.
If completed, the railway would:
- Enhance the economic and social future of East Riding, reducing car dependency, and supporting new development by providing sustainable low carbon public transport with attractive journey times.
- Create an alternative link from Hull and the East Riding to the national network.
- Enhance network resilience because existing rail infrastructure serving Hull is vulnerable (e.g. flooding).
- Improve connectivity.
- Unlock the potential of the region.
- Improve access to affordable housing in desirable towns, institutions and healthcare facilities.
- Unlock potential economic investment, house and land valuation improvements, business and industry growth.
The project, initially fronted by former Labour candidate for Beverley and Holderness, and 2024’s Yorkshire Party Candidate George McManus, has cross party support with Graham, Charlie Dewhirst, Sir David Davis, Emma Hardy, Rachael Maskell and Dame Diana Johnson all signed up to support the project.
Graham has long been a strong supporter of a new link between York and Hull and has been working closely with the Minsters Rail Campaign for many years. He helped the project secure £10,000 in Restoring Your Railway funding in 2021.
Graham has raised it with government ministers of both Labour and Conservative governments and supported the Minsters Rail Campaign’s street stall in Beverley.
In May 2024 then Rail Minister Huw Merriman announced that the previous government’s £168 million Local Transport Fund could support the continuing development of the railway, the next stage for which is a new Outline Business Case.
Graham said “Connecting York and Hull via a new railway would transform Beverley and Holderness, as well as the East Riding more widely.
“With a rail link, people between the Minsters would have a vastly improved travel to work area. York and Hull would be able to continue their long-standing co-operation and alleviate the A1079.
“If this government is serious about levelling up the North, it should look beyond Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool and cast its eyes to Hull, York and the East Riding where a fantastic railway is just waiting for government support.”
Roy Begg, Technical Officer for the Minster Rail Campaign, said, “We’re grateful for Graham’s steadfast support in Parliament and we hope to continue to make the case for this railway.
“A railway would do so much for the area and show that the government is serious about transforming East Yorkshire.”
