Labour Spending Review

[LNW-GW Joint]

Some announcements about rail were made in Rachel Reeves' spending review today.
Items I noted were:
- a 4-year settlement for TfL (content not known)
- £3.5bn more for TRU (again, no details). Rachel said "a quarter of the Manchester-York route will be live this year".
- £2.5bn extra for East West Rail, mentioning the whole route Oxford-Cambridge
- £445m additional funding for Wales over 10 years, including, if I can believe my ears, "Padeswood Sidings" (one of the blockers to a Wrexham-Bidston upgrade).
- Midlands Rail hub approved (ie development of Birmingham Moor St) - actually only to fund the "next stage", not actual work n the ground.

Probably a lot more to emerge when the Green Book is studied, and DfT/TfW/TS/TfL make their announcements.
The BBC seems sure the new Liverpool-Manchester railway (via Manchester Airport) is in there.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

- £3.5 more for TRU (again, no details). Rachel said "a quarter of the Manchester-York route will be live this year".

Million? Billion?

EDIT: I just checked on the TRU thread and it is billions.

 

[Palmerston]

I can't easily link to it, but 5.84 of the Spending review says there is funding for HS2 to go from Curzon Street to Euston.

 

[FMerrymon]

A 10 year infrastructure plan is apparently being announced next week, which is expected to be when the Liverpool-Manchester Railway will be announced. They are stringing this out a little.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

A 10 year infrastructure plan is apparently being announced next week, which is expected to be when the Liverpool-Manchester Railway will be announced. They are stringing this out a little.

That I assume will be given by the Secretary of State for Transport rather than the Chancellor?

 

[erikvd28]

Anything about phase 2a to Crewe?

 

[zwk500]

Million? Billion?

EDIT: I just checked on the TRU thread and it is billions.

To confirm: (From https://assets.publishing.service.g...349913_HMT_Spending_Review_June_2025_Elay.pdf)

4.16 Furthermore, through this SR, the government will fund key, growth-driving major projects that will improve connectivity between cities and towns, including: a. The Transpennine Route Upgrade, for which the government will provide £3.5 billion. This will reduce the journey time for commuters travelling between Manchester and Leeds by a quarter; and, b. Allocating £2.5 billion to progress the delivery of East West Rail, supporting housing developments and unlocking the potential of the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor.

 

[Benjwri]

TfL settlement is £2.2billion over 4 years.
Not mentioned in the statement but also will be:

• £240 million to enhance Leeds station, improving capacity and relieving congestion

Some worse news in terms of subsidy:

Resource DEL funding falls in real terms over the period, primarily driven by a declining rail passenger services subsidy as passenger ridership and revenue continue to recover post COVID-19 and efficiencies and savings are made through public ownership.

Source

 

[zwk500]

Anything about phase 2a to Crewe?

Not that I can see in the document

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Spending Review document here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6849172b860362efc8e78836/E03349913_HMT_Spending_Review_June_2025_TEXT_PRINT.pdf

- from page 31 in the link above:
Transport
4.14 Transport is critical to the delivery of the growth mission. Over Phase 2 of the SR, the government will increase transport capital investment to give people across the country greater access to jobs, education, training and public services.

4.15 The government is investing in transport in city regions across England, pivoting new investment towards the country’s cities and surrounding towns and addressing historic underinvestment in the North and Midlands, while giving local areas more control over how this investment is spent. This includes:
a. Providing £15.6 billion in total by 2031-32 for the elected mayors of some of England's largest city regions via the Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements, supporting them to invest in their local transport priorities, including zero emission buses, trams and local rail. This will more than double real terms city region transport spending per year by 2029-30, compared to 2024-25;
b. Investing £2.3 billion in the Local Transport Grant over Phase 2 for local transport improvements including bus lanes, cycleways and congestion improvement measures in places outside of those areas receiving TCR settlements. This will deliver a fourfold increase in funding in 2029-30 compared to 2024-25;
and, c. Providing the largest multi-year settlement for London in over a decade, with £2.2 billion of funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 for Transport for London's capital renewals programme.

4.16 Furthermore, through this SR, the government will fund key, growth-driving major projects that will improve connectivity between cities and towns, including:
a. The Transpennine Route Upgrade, for which the government will provide £3.5 billion. This will reduce the journey time for commuters travelling between Manchester and Leeds by a quarter;
and, b. Allocating £2.5 billion to progress the delivery of East West Rail, supporting housing developments and unlocking the potential of the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor.

 

[furnessvale]

I don't wish to put a wet blanket on things, but I will.

Are we all sure that these figures are ADDITIONAL funds or just the release of the next tranche of cash for pre existing projects?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I don't wish to put a wet blanket on things, but I will.

Are we all sure that these figures are ADDITIONAL funds or just the release of the next tranche of cash for pre existing projects?

I would put very good money on it being releasing the next tranche of cash for pre-existing projects. No way can it be new money.

 

[FMerrymon]

That I assume will be given by the Secretary of State for Transport rather than the Chancellor?

That would make sense.

A summary of today for rail:

https://x.com/philatrail/status/1932783960938954780?t=5HmfyWvTma4tkP7JnodpkQ&s=19

Section 5.83 – Rail Investment (excluding HS2):

The UK government will invest £10.2 billion in rail enhancements (excluding HS2), focusing on key national infrastructure to improve connectivity. Key allocations include:

£3.5 billion for the TransPennine Route Upgrade (Manchester–Leeds), cutting journey times to 41 minutes by the early 2030s.

£2.5 billion for East-West Rail (Oxford–Cambridge corridor) to boost connectivity and economic growth.

£300 million for rail in Wales, supporting projects like level crossings and Cardiff West Junction, contributing to a total of £445 million in Welsh rail enhancements.

£240 million to improve Leeds station capacity and reduce congestion.

Funding to support:

A 10-year Infrastructure Strategy for Northern England rail development.

The next stage of the Midlands Rail Hub West, improving connections from Birmingham to the wider region.

Section 5.84 – HS2 Funding:

An additional £25.3 billion is allocated for delivering HS2 Phase One from Birmingham Curzon Street to London Euston. This aims to reset the HS2 programme under new leadership to address delivery challenges.

 

[brad465]

That I assume will be given by the Secretary of State for Transport rather than the Chancellor?

If it's infrastructure in general I'd have thought the PM &/or the Business Secretary, but if it's only transport infrastructure announced then this would be the Transport Secretary, though the PM could also be in attendance.

 

[Horizon22]

The headline summary on the BBC says the DfT loses 5% each year.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czdyzrm99g2o

Over the next three years, Home Office funding is down 1.7% a year, the Foreign Office loses 6.9% a year, mainly in aid spending, the Department for Transport loses 5% a year, Environment and Rural Affairs loses 2.7%, and Business and Trade loses 1.8%.

Given the commitments made above, any ideas where these will be made? Other than headline infrastructure spending it might be bad news for the day-to-day and certainly no fare decreases!

 

[Benjwri]

The headline summary on the BBC says the DfT loses 5% each year.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czdyzrm99g2o



Given the commitments made above, any ideas where these will be made? Other than headline infrastructure spending it might be bad news for the day-to-day and certainly no fare decreases!

Expected to be accounted for in some part by a headcount decrease and great efficiencies in the DfT itself, and some part by increased efficiency from nationalisation, but yes the rail subsidy will be decreased.

 

[InTheEastMids]

Given the commitments made above, any ideas where these will be made?

According to a chart I've seen on Bluesky posted by Simon Evans from Carbon Brief, suggests that the bulk of the pain will be felt by HS2
I don't pretend to understand the calculations and percentages in the chart, but it did occur to me that this might reflect slippage to HS2 schedule, meaning more of the budget falls outside the scope of the spending review period.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

For at least a couple of years, the annual spend on HS2 has been capped to the DfT budget, resulting in pauses and deferment of project items, notably OOC-Euston, Delta-Handsacre and the railway contracts.
There will probably be more of that until Mark Wild comes up with a believable figure and timescale to complete Phase 1.

 

[Palmerston]

Postponing infrastructure is great because it doesn't actually save money but you do get the benefits later rather than sooner.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Postponing infrastructure is great because it doesn't actually save money but you do get the benefits later rather than sooner.

Is that sarcasm (to coin a Sheldon Cooper question)?

 

[BrianW]

Anything about phase 2a to Crewe?

The Chancellor gave a scathing response to a question from Sir Gavin Williamson regarding the return of land in Staffordshire no longer needed for HS2, while not answering his question 'When ....'.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

That I assume will be given by the Secretary of State for Transport rather than the Chancellor?

Its sponsored by the Treasury but has input from all the big spending capital departments. A lot of it is about how to improve delivery and avoid HS2 debacles and the planning wrangles that stall projects.

 

[FMerrymon]

The Chancellor gave a scathing response to a question from Sir Gavin Williamson regarding the return of land in Staffordshire no longer needed for HS2, while not answering his question 'When ....'.

Does that sound like they want to keep it then? If they were still disposing of it, might have been a more straight forward answer. If there are other straws for me to clutch, I'm happy to do so.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Jun 2025 ==

For at least a couple of years, the annual spend on HS2 has been capped to the DfT budget, resulting in pauses and deferment of project items, notably OOC-Euston, Delta-Handsacre and the railway contracts.
There will probably be more of that until Mark Wild comes up with a believable figure and timescale to complete Phase 1.

And that itself has added multiple billions to the cost and delayed delivery.

 

[InTheEastMids]

The review says £10.2 Billion for rail enhancement but only listed schemes of about £6.5 Billion (mostly TRU and EWR). So there is about £3.5Bn that hasn't yet been attached to any schemes.

 

[59CosG95]

The review says £10.2 Billion for rail enhancement but only listed schemes of about £6.5 Billion (mostly TRU and EWR). So there is about £3.5Bn that hasn't yet been attached to any schemes.

MMLE and Ivanhoe would be very welcome indeed.

 

[The exile]

The review says £10.2 Billion for rail enhancement but only listed schemes of about £6.5 Billion (mostly TRU and EWR). So there is about £3.5Bn that hasn't yet been attached to any schemes.

Saving things for the infrastructure announcement as they are generally of regional significance rather than national?

 

[FMerrymon]

The review says £10.2 Billion for rail enhancement but only listed schemes of about £6.5 Billion (mostly TRU and EWR). So there is about £3.5Bn that hasn't yet been attached to any schemes.

Midland Rail Hub was announced, that must be part of the 3.5bn.

 

[BrianW]

Saving things for the infrastructure announcement as they are generally of regional significance rather than national?

Indeed. 'News Management' is at the heart of government. Good headlines. Issuing info at best times, e.g. weekends. Remember 'A good day to bury bad news'? Remember Stephen Byers- a then Transport Secretary IIRC?

The Chancellor was at pains to 'name check' many a Labour MPs constituency, showing 'pork barrel' politices to be alive and kicking, and endeavouring to 'pepper' her sppeech with examples from most 'Regions'- although I don't recall much for the 'West Country'- e.g Somerset will benefit in the same way as the whole of the country after 14 years ... and levelling up for Tunbridge Wells

 

[weeklycommuter]

I can't easily link to it, but 5.84 of the Spending review says there is funding for HS2 to go from Curzon Street to Euston.

The following statement on page 81 of the following document.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6849172b860362efc8e78836/E03349913_HMT_Spending_Review_June_2025_TEXT_PRINT.pdf

5.84 £25.3 billion is provided under this settlement to progress delivery of HS2 from Birmingham Curzon Street to London Euston. This funding will support the full reset of the HS2 programme under the leadership of the new Chief Executive, addressing longstanding delivery challenges.

 

[InTheEastMids]

Midland Rail Hub was announced, that must be part of the 3.5bn.

The price tag for MRH is £1.75 Bn, which you'd think would eat up half of the available budget and build both curves from Moor Street towards Coleshill and Kings Norton.
However, the precise wording is "Funding to progress the next stage of Midlands Rail Hub West"

This does not read like an irrevocable commitment to deliver the entire scheme from out of this £3.5bn.