A train renamed the Northern Powerhouse” by George Osborne to signal the renewal of transport in northern England has broken down three times in four months.
The refurbished Class 319 electric train was named by the chancellor during a ceremony at Manchester Piccadilly railway station in March, as he launched a multibillion project to improve road links and train speeds north of the country.
The northern powerhouse project is part of Osborne’s long-term plan to rebalance the UK economy, so that it is less reliant on London and the south-east. But according to the Knutsford Guardian, the Knutsford MP’s emblematic train has broken down on three separate occasions since March.
This comes after the project suffered a huge setback when it was announced last month that the electrification of the Manchester to Leeds train line was to be shelved. The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, admitted to parliament the project was being paused because of an ongoing crisis at Network Rail.
Northern Rail defended the train’s faults, stating: “The faults of the Northern Powerhouse is less than some other trains running on the network.
“It is not unusual and they have been very small faults that would happen on any train, such as mechanics that have failed and need to be replaced. A bit like when you need to change a bulb in your car’s light.
“It is nothing that we are concerned about and it is quite average what has happened. When it has broken down we have to make sure that it is right before it goes back on to the network so it has been missing for a short time.”
Proposed routes in the northern powerhouse strategy feature Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield with new east-west road connections, a road tunnel under the Peak District, and the introduction of a northern Oyster-style smart and integrated ticketing system across bus, tram, metro and rail services throughout the region, dubbed a Noyster.
Despite optimism among ministers, council leaders in the north have criticised the government’s failure to confirm when the pause on the overcrowded TransPennine rail line would be lifted. Judith Blake, leader of Leeds city council, said: “That project would have an immediate impact on our economy. It was one of the things that was top of the list for improving connectivity across the north of England.”
Chris Hearld, chairman for accountancy firm KPMG in the north, said: “While the introduction of an Oyster card system across the north is a nice gesture in principal, it will do absolutely nothing to alleviate the lack of capacity and very little to improve the connectivity on our region’s ever-crumbling rail network.”
• This article was amended on Wednesday 22 July 2015. In it, we attributed a quote to Network Rail. This should have said Northern Rail, the company that operates the service.
