Background to the report

The north of England contains several large cities – including Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield – which are poorly served by transport connections. This creates a barrier to improved productivity as it is harder than it should be for people to travel between cities for work and for leisure.

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Since 2014, the government has been considering plans to enable increased economic growth in the region. This includes improving east–west rail connections across the north of England through the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme.

In January 2026, as part of its wider Northern Growth Strategy, the government announced its plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail. The programme will involve building new rail lines and stations, as well as upgrades to existing lines and stations.

Together this is expected to provide more frequent trains and shorter journey times between Liverpool and Manchester to the west of the Pennines, and Leeds, York and other cities to the east. It builds upon an existing rail upgrade programme in the region, the Transpennine Route Upgrade between Manchester and York.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is the department responsible for funding and overseeing delivery as the sponsor for Northern Powerhouse Rail. Two of DfT’s arm’s-length bodies are responsible for parts of the programme – Network Rail for delivering existing line upgrades to the east of the Pennines, and High Speed Two Limited (HS2 Ltd) for developing the plans between Liverpool and Manchester.

DfT has also been working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG); Transport for the North, as the sub-national transport body for the region; and with local government bodies, who will be involved with delivering the wider benefits enabled by the programme.

Scope of the report

DfT has been working on plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail for over a decade. As it now develops the programme’s business case, this report examines how DfT is setting up the programme for success. It assesses:

  • the progress DfT has made with the programme since 2014
  • how DfT is setting up the programme and addressing key challenges
  • how DfT is learning relevant lessons from other major programmes

The fieldwork for this report was completed between October 2025 and February 2026, the majority ahead of the government’s announcement in January 2026 on its plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

As a result, many of the areas examined remain work in progress, and the NAO expects to report further on the programme in the future. The report does not examine the government’s wider growth plans for the north or progress on the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme.

Video summary

Jonny Mood, the report’s director, summarises our findings.

Conclusions

The government has long considered that improving the rail service and infrastructure in the north of England is a vital enabler for economic growth and productivity.

DfT has now provided greater clarity over what it will do as part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme. However, it has taken over a decade to get to this stage given the significant scope changes during this period.

These changes created uncertainty and pushed back delivery of benefits, such as more frequent and faster rail services that would help improve job opportunities in the region. DfT has begun taking steps to set up the programme for success, including identifying key lessons from other programmes to incorporate into its management.

Better transport will help enable growth but, to ensure that the government’s vision for economic growth in the north is achieved, further work is needed by DfT to ensure that the programme aligns with national and local growth plans.

This will need to be supported by effective cross-government working at both national and local levels to maximise the intended benefits within the resources available.

DfT will need to continue to draw on further learning as it continues its planning of the programme to help manage it effectively and secure value for money.

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Publication details

Press release

View press release (11 Mar 2026)

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