Graham, a long-time supporter of the campaign for a new rail link between York and Hull, via Beverley, Pocklington, Market Weighton and Stamford Bridge, has secured confirmation from the Government that money from the £168 million Local Transport Fund could be used to fund an engineering study.
Minister Huw Merriman, who Graham has met on several occasions to press the case for the proposed railway, confirmed that the Council could use some of the £168 million to fund a new business study for the railway.
Graham ran a survey as part of his mission to ensure the £168 million Local Transport Fund is spent on local priorities. Over 200 of the more than 700 respondents named the proposed railway as one of their top priorities for the future of transport in the area.
Graham has long worked with Hull MPs Dame Diana Johnson (Lab, Hull North) and Emma Hardy (Lab, Hull West and Hessle) as well as Sir Greg Knight (Con, East Yorkshire), Julian Sturdy (Con, York Outer) and Rachael Maskell (Lab, York Central) to move this project forward.
The project was successful in its bid for £50,000 Restoring Your Railway funding in October 2021.
Since then, Graham has raised the project with then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, and the Business Case was published in September 2022. Graham has had meetings with other MPs, including a briefing with world-renowned engineering consultants AECOM, and has raised this with both East Riding and Hull Councils.
Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart said: “Linking the two great northern cities of York and Hull would transform our area.
“It would create jobs, slash travel times, alleviate traffic on the A1079 and save a colossal amount of carbon.
“It would put the East Riding in the heart of a corridor of prosperity and unlock opportunities galore for us, our children and our children’s children.
“It’s good that the Government has now confirmed that East Riding Council could use the £168 million Local Transport Fund to push the railway proposal along.
“Now it’s up to the likes of me, supported by other MPs and councillors and the superb Minsters Rail Campaign, to make the case to our respective councils that this is something worth exploring and could unlock the tremendous potential of our area.”
Roy Begg, Project Manager for the Minsters Rail Campaign said, “It was great to see the Rail Minister confirm that the Local Transport Fund could fund the next stage of York to Hull Rail.
“I’m grateful to Graham for taking the time to chat today and discuss how we can continue to make the case for this line which would do so much for the East Riding, Hull and York.
“The money for a new study is there. We now just need the Councils to say ‘yes’ and we can move to the next stage of filling the missing link in our rail network.”
ENDS
Notes to the Editor
Attached is a photo of Graham discussing the railway with Roy Begg, and a video of the exchange in the House of Commons.
Graham’s work on York to Hull Rail so far: https://www.grahamstuart.com/YorkHullRail
https://www.grahamstuart.com/news/yorkshire-mps-join-forces-fight-york-hull-rail-link
https://www.grahamstuart.com/news/mp-raises-beverley-york-rail-chancellor
https://www.grahamstuart.com/news/funding-success-beverley-york-rail
