Battery trains will cut Hull-Leeds journey time by only a minute

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 17:33 · Archive

New battery-powered trains arriving in Hull by 2034 will reduce journey times to Leeds by only about one minute, a peer has said.

A £1-billion investment in battery-powered trains for East Yorkshire has been criticised as insufficient. The new TransPennine Express fleet, due to enter service in 2034, will reduce journey times between Hull and Leeds by only about one minute, according to Lord Dave McCobb, a former Hull Liberal Democrat councillor now in the House of Lords. He revealed this figure from a written response by Rail Minister Lord Hendy, which also indicated the trains would save five to six minutes between Hull and Manchester.

McCobb has called the battery solution 'an insult' and is campaigning for full rail electrification instead. 'Just one extra minute. Is that all the people of Hull and East Yorkshire are worth?' he said. He argued that after years of promises and a devolution deal committed to improving travel times, the region is being offered minimal benefit and must wait eight years to receive it.

Local Labour politicians have defended the investment. Dame Diana Johnson, Hull North and Cottingham MP, accused McCobb of 'political point-scoring' and called for cross-party working to encourage further infrastructure investment for the north. The new trains should reduce air pollution and provide smoother journeys, but Hull was excluded from the £45-billion Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme announced in January, which will electrify lines between Leeds, York and Sheffield.

How it is being reported

• Battery trains branded an 'insult' to HullLord Cobb says the new trains will only reduce the journey times between Hull and Leeds by a minute.BBC Humberside · 22 Oct, 17:08
• Rail investment will only cut Hull-to-Leeds journey times by 'up to a minute'Lord Dave McCobb has described the upgrades as an 'insult' as it was revealed a new fleet of battery-powered trains will not offer East Yorkshire significantly improved journey times as he campaigns for full rail electrificationHull Daily Mail · 22 Oct, 14:18

In this story: Lord Dave McCobb · Hull · Leeds · East Yorkshire · Dame Diana Johnson · TransPennine Express · Lord Hendy

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