Northern Leaders met yesterday for a pivotal Board Meeting of Transport for the North (TfN) which could shape the economic future of the Region for generations to come.

Metro Mayors, Council Leaders and representatives of Local Enterprise Partnerships covering the whole of the North convened in Leeds to agree their initial response to the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan.

The TfN Board identified that the proposed Government plan fails in three major areas: capacity; connectivity and disruption.

Interim Chair of Transport for the North, Councillor Louise Gittins said “The strength of feeling amongst Board members is as strong as any I have ever seen. And while they may be angry and disappointed about what has been put on the table – it is quite clear they still want to find a way forward. These resolutions set the Board’s desire to want to work with Government in determining what that way forward may be.

"The next steps will be crucial to the realising the economic potential identified in the original Independent Economic Review. The Board’s preferred network for Northern Powerhouse Rail reflected that this is an investment in the economic, social and environmental future of the North.”