A group of MPs representing York, the East Riding and Hull have come together to campaign for a new rail link between York and Hull.
Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness, has long been pushing to connect these great Northern university cities.
Graham, Dame Diana Johnson (Lab, Hull North), Sir Greg Knight (Con, East Yorkshire), David Davis (Con, Haltemprice and Howden), Emma Hardy (Lab, Hull West and Hessle), Julian Sturdy (Con, York Outer) and Rachael Maskell (Lab, York Central) have announced that they will work together to get this project to the point where it can be considered as one of Britain’s new railways under the Restoring Your Railway Fund.
The proposed link, closed in the Beeching cuts in 1965, will connect York and Hull to create new opportunities for collaboration between the cities, and create a new corridor of opportunities in places like Beverley, Pocklington and Market Weighton.
With partnerships only increasing between these two Northern Powerhouses, such as the Hull York Medical School, it is only right that the journey time between York and Hull is slashed from the current hour to traverse the 47 mile route by road.
The cross-party group of MPs have agreed a common course of action to work together to ensure this route is on the Department for Transport’s radar.
The next phase for the new line will be an engineering study to investigate what the route would be, since much of the old Minsters’ Line has now been built over.
Commenting, Graham said: “York and Hull are two of the North’s greatest cities and linking them is vital for our region and for Yorkshire.
“That’s why I’m working with MPs from across the region to make a new rail line between York and Hull a reality.
My Yorkshire colleagues, Labour and Conservative, and I are united in our shared goal to improve Yorkshire’s transport connectivity.”
Dame Diana Johnson, MP for Hull North, said, “Restoring the rail line between York and Hull via Beverley would boost the Humber economy.
“I’m working cross-party with MPs in our region to make this great idea a reality.”
Commenting, Roy Begg, spokesman for Minsters Rail campaign group, said: “We can make this no-brainer of a line a reality, and I’m so grateful to Graham and all the MPs for everything they’re doing to keep this on the Government’s plate.
“We need this new line to link York and Hull and provide new opportunities for everywhere in between.”
