MINISTERS have been accused of ignoring the North-East following an announcement that the electrification of a cross-Pennine railway is to go ahead.

The TransPennine rail service, from Newcastle to Liverpool, will be electrified between Manchester and York with hope that it will pave the way work on the rest of the line to be completed.

But Tom Blenkinsop, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said it made no sense to upgrade one part of the route and leave other.

“The TransPennine service runs from Newcastle to Liverpool, so if they split up the route into electrified and non-electrified, what is to stop providers deciding they are different route – it could jeopardise the service,” he said.

Network Rail will work with the Department for Transport (DFT) and Rail North to develop the new plan for electrification of the TransPennine line between Stalybridge and Leeds and on to York and Selby.

It is billed as an improvement to the previous plan which only changed the power supply of the trains.

Network Rail said it will deliver faster journey times and significantly more capacity between Manchester, Leeds and York.

The upgrade is expected to provide capacity for six fast or semi-fast trains per hour, take up to 15 minutes off journey times between Manchester and York.

Once work is finished by 2022, the whole route from Liverpool to Newcastle is to be fully electrified.

But Mr Blenkinsop said he was unconvinced that transport ministers understood the needs of the North-East.

“Looking through the document one thing stands out: there is absolutely no mention of any electrification of the short piece of line from Northallterton to Middlesbrough and Teesport.

“This is the key piece of work needed to connect Teesside to high speed rail and negligence of the highest order.

“In terms of road improvements again, there is no specific mention of the needs of Teesside. There is talk of rebranding the A19 as an “expressway", which, when you look at the small print seems mainly to give the road a logo to indicate that it is a through dual carriageway.

“It seems that yet again the switches in the Northern Powerhouse have been pulled off by this government.”

Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin said: “Connecting up the great cities of the North is at the heart of our plan to build a Northern Powerhouse. This government will see the job through and build a better, faster and more reliable railway for passengers in the North and Midlands.”