TRANSPENNINE rail travel is set to get faster and more frequent after the Government promised millions for the route.

Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday vowed investment to electrify the line through Huddersfield between Manchester and Leeds.

The decision will cut journey times between Liverpool and Newcastle by 45 minutes, improve reliability, and attract new private investment in the North of England, the Government said.

Rail users groups have welcomed the news and predicted the investment could lead to further electrification of other routes around West Yorkshire.

West Yorkshire Metro chairman Clr James Lewis, said: “Research has shown that the result of bringing journey times between Leeds and Manchester down to under 45 minutes would be a £6.7bn boost in productivity.

“Electrifying the route will make it an attractive alternative to the M62, reducing congestion on the often overcrowded motorway.

“As well as being extremely important in its own right, this electrification project may also offer an opportunity for ‘fill in’ schemes, such as the Harrogate and the Caldervale lines and we will be pursuing this with Network Rail and the Department for Transport.”

Peter Marshall, chairman of the Huddersfield, Sheffield and Penistone Rail Users Association, said the announcement was “a piece of good news for rail in the north”.

But Mr Marshall said he was sceptical that the Penistone line would be included in any future projects.

He said: “It’s good news, the electrification of the line will mean services will be quicker and it will give us the chance to run six trains an hour.

“The need for a timetable goes out of the window as it will just be a case of turn up and get on a train.

“The second piece of good news is the excess trains can be cascaded down to other services, so it might mean better trains for other routes.