Transport for the North (TfN) leaders have been given a closer look at the East Riding's transport network on a tour of the county.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council welcomed TfN chair Lord Patrick McLoughlin and chief executive Martin Tugwell to the county last week to showcase the East Riding and some of its recent infrastructure projects, as well as highlighting some of the transport challenges the county faces.
The visit came ahead of today's announcement that the East Riding will receive £168million of additional funding over the next seven years as part of the Government's £4.7 billion Local Transport Fund. Under the new fund, £2.5billion of HS2 funding has been reallocated to improve local transport connections in the North.
Lord McLoughlin and Mr Tugwell were met at Brough train station by Cllr Anne Handley, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, and Cllr Paul West, cabinet member for environment and transport, along with senior council officers, who took them on a day-long bus tour of the region.
The first stop was the Siemens Mobility Rail Village in Goole, where director of localisation Finbarr Dowling showed the group around the state-of-the-art facility and explained its contributions to transport in the UK.
Lord McLoughlin and Mr Tugwell were then taken to see several other key sites in the East Riding, including the proposed link road near Howden, the £87million A164/Jock's Lodge improvement works on the outskirts of Beverley and the A164 Willerby roundabout scheme.
IMAGE: FInbarr Dowling (right) leads the tour of the Siemens Mobility Rail Village in Goole. (Picture: Siemens Mobility)
The tour ended at Ergo business centre in Hessle, where discussions continued on how the region's transport network could be improved.
Among the topics discussed was the electrification of the rail lines from Hull to Leeds and Hull to Sheffield, a commitment made by the Government as part of its Network North plans and the Hull and East Yorkshire devolution deal.
Lord McLoughlin said: "I was in the East Riding to hear about the great work being done locally, but also why upgrading the transport infrastructure in this part of the North is vitally important not just for this area but for UK plc.
"The work being done by Siemens Mobility in Goole is a good example of local leaders and businesses working together to create transformative change in a way that will benefit everyone.
"It also gives an insight into the prize that can be won for not just the East Riding but across our region if we better connect the North of England."
IMAGE: Transport for the North / East Riding of Yorkshire Council meeting at Ergo business centre (Picture: East Riding of Yorkshire Council)
Cllr Handley said: "We were very grateful of the opportunity to show Lord McLoughlin and Martin Tugwell around our part of the country.
"The fact that they have come here highlights the importance of East Yorkshire in transport landscape of the North, and demonstrates TfN's commitment to working with local authorities to drive meaningful improvements.
"I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together as we continue to work towards a better transport network right across East Yorkshire and the North."
For more information, visit Transport for the North
