Transport for the North (TfN)

Profile

We are England’s first Sub-national Transport Body. We were formed to transform the transport system across the North of England, providing the infrastructure needed to drive economic growth.
As a partnership, we bring the North’s 20 local transport authorities and business leaders together with Network Rail, Highways England, and HS2 Ltd, and work with Central Government. We enable the North to speak with one voice on the transport infrastructure investment needed to drive transformational growth and rebalance the UK economy.

We are based across the North, with offices in Manchester and Leeds and colleagues working within local transport bodies.

We will not replace or replicate the work of existing local transport bodies. Our role is to add strategic value by ensuring that funding and strategy decisions about transport in the North are informed by local knowledge and requirements. This fits with the devolution agenda and we will draw powers down from central government rather than up from local government.

Transport for the North’s Vision:

“Our vision is of a thriving North of England, where modern transport connections drive economic growth and support an excellent quality of life.”

Chairman’s message:

“Transport for the North is striving to improve the frequency, capacity, speed and resilience of the North’s transport system to make it easier for people and goods to move throughout the region. In doing so we want to create a globally competitive environment that can sustain economic growth for decades to come. This is a landmark opportunity for the North of England to plan and prioritise infrastructure investment for the entire region and across all transport modes. This is significant not just for the North, but for the UK as a whole, as this has the potential to make a substantial contribution to rebalancing the national economy” – John Cridland, Chairman

Transport for the North’s Integrated and Smart Travel programme:

TfN’s Integrated and Smart Travel programme will transform the passenger experience now and in the future by working in mutually beneficial partnerships with the rail, bus and light rail sectors. Embracing existing and emerging technologies will improve the customer experience and positively impact the economy. We are working to introduce new initiatives that will make travelling on public transport easier to find out about and quicker and easier to pay for, for passengers right across the North. We want to enhance choice and ensure passengers pay prices that are fair for the collection of journeys they have made. By doing this we will increase the number of people travelling by public transport and broaden people’s access to jobs.

Using emerging technologies, the programme will deliver modern payment methods and mobile travel information we know the North’s passengers want and expect. Paying for journeys will become quicker, easier and more convenient.

This adds up to a wealth of potential benefits by offering transport operators and authorities the chance to be part of something much bigger. For customers, travelling by public transport will be:

• Easier to use
• Easier to pay for
• Easier to access through personalised travel information

Operators and local transport authorities will benefit from:

• Smarter use of data and customer information
• Confidence in revenue reimbursement
• Being at the forefront of innovation
• Ultimately, the transport network will be more efficient and there will be a consistent and familiar travel experience throughout the North.

The programme will be delivered in three phases over the next four years.

Our Integrated and Smart Travel programme exists to transform the passenger experience now and in the future. We will make it easier for passengers to make multi-mode, multi-operator, price-capped journeys across the North in ways that are simpler to find out about easier to pay for and access, and better value for money.

Additional TfN programmes include:

• Northern Powerhouse Rail – Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) is a major strategic rail programme, designed to transform connectivity between the key economic centres of the North. The programme promises radical changes in service patterns and target journey times. Our Strategic Outline Business Case received Board approval in February 2019. It outlines just how the investment could increase the capacity, speed and resilience of the North’s rail network. The network represents an investment of up to £39bn.
• Strategic Rail – Working towards a world class rail network for the North, improving passenger’s journeys with better times frequency and capacity. Strategic Rail, which became a part of Transport for the North in April 2018, was formerly known as Rail North. We have secured and are leading two transformational and investment-led rail franchises for the North, marking the start of increased local investment and greater local control. Bringing together local transport authorities across the whole of the North, we are also responsible for shaping the strategic and economic development of the network for rail users and we work with the industry to ensure collaboration on future rail infrastructure planning and investment. Joining Transport for the North has provided strategic opportunity to join up ‘track and train’, meaning train service solutions can be developed and implemented alongside infrastructure schemes.
• Major Roads – In June 2017, we published our Initial Major Roads Report, which has informed our Strategic Transport Plan for the North. Working with Partners across the North of England, we have mapped out a Major Road Network for the North of England. This identifies the local and strategic roads which are vital for economic growth. These priority routes inform the recommendations in our Strategic Transport Plan for the North, including the development of seven Strategic Development Corridors. We are working with Highways England and the Department for Transport on three strategic road studies for the North, which are being carried out as part of the Roads Investment Strategy: The Northern Trans Pennine Routes Study, The Manchester North West Quadrant Study and The Trans Pennine Tunnel Study.
• Freight and Logistics – This is an integral part of our work. Traditionally seen as a purely private sector entity, we’ve identified the industry as a key sector for enabling economic growth in the North of England.The North has freight flows that are building the South. Crossrail is built with northern steel, transported to London by rail, made to an exceptionally high standard. Road freight plays a huge role in moving goods around the North. Whether it’s delivering a car component to build the latest Nissan model or ensuring the latest Amazon order makes it to a customer on time, road freight plays its part. Whether we are moving things in a lorry or van, the way we shop and consume goods is changing. The infrastructure that’s needed to cope with this change needs to be carefully planned and designed. We are using our freight work to inform the corridor studies. This will allow us to see the impact of growth on the roads and railways of both passengers and freight and what this means for the new or enhanced infrastructure we need.
• International Connectivity – If the North was performing as it should, we would currently have 4 million more air passengers – that’s ten percent more than now. We want to increase the North’s international connectivity so that it can perform on the global stage, making it easier and more attractive for businesses and entrepreneurs to work together and reach customers and suppliers across the North, the UK and the rest of the world. If we can increase the range of destinations and frequency of services that have direct connections from our ports and airports, then we will see more people and goods entering the North directly from across the world – increasing visitor numbers and boosting the economy. We need a better-connected North. This will it make it faster and cheaper for businesses to access international markets, encouraging outward and inward overseas trade and investment which will facilitate economic growth.