Speaking on 4 June, in Rochdale, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, announced £15.6 billion package of funding for transport projects in towns and cities, outside of London and the Southeast.

The £15.6 billion funding package for Mayoral Authorities includes:

• Funding to extend the metros in Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands
• Funding to renew the tram network in South Yorkshire
• Deliver new mass transit systems in West Yorkshire

Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP:

"Connectivity is an absolutely critical factor in unlocking the potential of towns and cities outside of London"

This announcement comes ahead of next week’s Governmental Spending Review in which the Chancellor is expected to share reforms to the Treasury’s ‘Green Book’.

In her speech, the Chancellor stated there is ‘more to come’ next week.

Full list of schemes to be funded through this package include:

North East

• £1.85bn government investment in the region will deliver a new Tyne and Wear Metro line, extending the network to Washington.
• The funding will also be used to help establish integrated contactless ticket payments across bus, Metro and rail services in the North East, install more electric vehicle (EV) charging points, create ‘safe and high quality’ walking, wheeling and cycling routes, and measures to make bus services in the region more reliable.

Greater Manchester

• Greater Manchester receives £2.5 billion for projects including new Metrolink stops in Bury, Manchester and Oldham and an extension of the tram network to Stockport.
• Funding will be used to fully electrify the Bee Network by 2030, with 1,000 new electric buses.

East Midlands

• East Midlands allocated £2 billion to design a new mass transit system between Derby and Nottingham.

West Midlands

• The West Midlands Metro will be extended from Birmingham city centre to a new sports quarter in Bordesley Green.

South Yorkshire

• Funding will be used to deliver a new fleet of trams for the South Yorkshire tram network by 2032.
• It will also reform South Yorkshire’s buses, with franchised buses operating in Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotherham by 2027, and across the whole of South Yorkshire by 2029. For more information and support regarding bus franchising, please see the Bus Centre of Excellence. 

West Yorkshire

• In West Yorkshire, the first phase of the £2.5bn mass transit programme is to fund two new tram lines. A Leeds line will run from St James's University Hospital through the city centre to the White Rose Centre, while a Bradford Line will connect Bradford and Leeds city centres. West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said the funding meant that "other vital projects" could also go ahead, such as new bus stations for Bradford and Wakefield.

Liverpool city region

• Pledged £1.6bn for faster connections to Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Everton stadium and Anfield, and a new bus fleet in St Helens and the Wirral next year.

Tees Valley 

• £1bn, including a £60m platform extension programme for Middlesbrough station. 

West of England

• £150m to improve rail infrastructure across the region.
• £200m for Mass transit development between Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.

CIHT welcomes this funding package and investment in the transport sector. CIHT has called for the Spending Review to pledge longer-term funding settlements for local roads in England.

CIHT looks forward to continuing to work with HM Treasury, the Department for Transport, and other government departments to improve the transport network throughout England and ensure delivery of a transport network fit for all our futures.