Keir Starmer had been expected to set out plan for rail project at Labour conference next week

The Northern Powerhouse Rail project is facing fresh delays with Keir Starmer no longer expected to set out a plan for the scheme at the upcoming Labour conference, according to reports.

The prime minister had been expected to make an announcement on the line between Liverpool and Manchester next week.

starmer

Starmer had been expected to make an announcement on Northern Powerhouse Rail at the Labour conference next week

But another review of the project is now underway amid concerns over long-term costs and value for money, the BBC has reported.

The government has reportedly insisted it is “fully committed” to the project and will set out a timetable in the coming weeks.

An announcement on Northern Powerhouse Rail has been expected for several months, with chancellor Rachel Reeves promising in June that she would set out plans for the scheme within weeks.

But the government provided no further updates on the project in the June spending review or in the infrastructure pipeline published in July.

The Department for Transport has also reportedly presented the Treasury with a plan for £1.5bn of early funding to allow work on the scheme to start in 2030.

But the Treasury is said to be reluctant to green light the project before ensuring it is not beset by the same spiralling costs as HS2 which have been blamed partly on construction starting before a programme was fully developed.

The line is seen by northern mayors as a key enabler of economic growth in the North West and essential for resolving transport constraints between the region’s two largest cities.

It is strongly backed by Lucy Powell, currently the favourite to win the contest to replace Angela Rayner as the next deputy leader of the Labour Party, and Powell’s close ally Andy Burnham, mayor of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority who is seen as a rival to Keir Starmer for the party leadership.

But the scheme has been criticised by Reform UK, with the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice calling for the line to be scrapped in a recent report by right-wing think tank Policy Exchange.

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