What was said about transport in the Autumn 2024 Budget?
Today (30 October 2024), Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out her Autumn 2024 Budget. It is the first time in over 14 years that a Labour budget has been presented to Parliament. Among a lot of talk on tax and spending was a short segment dedicated to transport — three minutes long, to be precise. Here's what was said.
TRANSPENNINE ROUTE UPGRADE: The delivery of which has been secured. It is an investment in the route between York and Manchester, via Leeds and Huddersfield.
"Fully electric local and regional services between Manchester and Stalybridge" will be in operation "by the end of this year." Electrification between Church Fenton and York will go ahead by 2026. The scheme will "help grow our economy across the north of England with faster and more reliable services."
EAST–WEST RAIL: A new route connecting Cambridge and Oxford also received a mention from the Chancellor. A 2019 report from Network Rail estimated the creation of this new main line to cost in excess of £1 billion.
The first services between Oxford, Bletchley, and Milton Keynes will commence next year. "Trains between Oxford and Bedford [will run] from 2030."
OTHER UPGRADES: Continuing with the theme of rail, Bradford Forster Square station is due for an upgrade, Manchester Victoria will see work to increase its capacity, and the railway between Wigan and Bolton will be electrified.
HIGH SPEED TWO: The government reaffirmed their commitment to the route between Old Oak Common and Birmingham. The Treasury also committed funding for tunnelling work to link Old Oak Common and London Euston.
As of late, Euston station has received plenty of attention with concerns surrounding overcrowding. Interestingly, there was no mention of HS2 serving Crewe, as was speculated in the weeks preceding the Budget.
POTHOLES: Road maintenance budgets will increase by £500 million next year. In their 2024 General Election manifesto, Labour committed to fixing an additional 1 million potholes each year. It makes you wonder how many potholes there actually are.
BUS FARE CAP: This was one detail of the Budget that was revealed in advance of today's statement. The bus fare cap in England was due to expire at the end of this year; the scheme has since been extended to the end of 2025.
Except, the cap will increase by 50% to £3, from £2. The government has been seemingly unwilling to admit that the cap will actually go up. No mention of the increase was made in today's Budget statement nor in the Department for Transport's press release.
CITY REGIONS TRANSPORT: The Treasury will deliver £1.3 billion of funding "to improve connectivity in our city regions." The list of projects benefitted includes the West Midlands Brierley Hill Metro extension, the renewal of the Sheffield Supertram, and the West Yorkshire Mass Transit system.
And that's the end of the segment. Earlier in the statement was a brief mention of air travel.
AIR PASSENGER DUTY: For short-haul, economy air travel this will increase by £2. Meanwhile, the higher rates for private jets will increase by 50%, up to £450 per passenger. These rates will come into effect in 2026–27.
The full Budget has since been published online, which we'll be working through over the coming week to provide more in-depth analysis.
