This is Hull and East Riding -- TRANSPORT Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has been asked to meet a delegation of MPs, city councillors and business leaders to discuss proposals to electrify the railway lines in and out of Hull. Chancellor George Osborne failed to give his approval to First Hull Trains' ambitious proposals to electrify the track between Hull and Selby as part of his Autumn Statement last week. Now, Hull West and Hessle MP Alan Johnson is stepping up the pressure, backed by the Mail's Hook Up Hull campaign, by calling for a meeting between the Transport Secretary and the cross-party group. Mr Johnson made the request in writing to Mr McLoughlin, which was accompanied by a letter from Councillor Martin Mancey, Hull City Council's portfolio holder for transport. In his letter, Cllr Mancey called for a meeting with the Transport Secretary if no announcement was made in the Chancellor's Statement last Thursday. "This issue is now coming to a head and we are grateful for the assistance we've had from your officials at the Department for Transport," Mr Johnson wrote. "We would now like to meet with you in order to demonstrate the consensus that exists and perhaps to explain further the financial help that Hull Trains are willing to provide, so that we can get a clear view of the options for completing this work, well ahead of 2017, when as you know, Hull will be the UK City of Culture. "It would be excellent if the Chancellor could join us, which is why I am copying this letter to him." MPs, city councillors and business leaders have united under the banner of the Mail's campaign to bring electrification to the railway network in and out of Hull – and link the city to the £50bn HS2 network to slash journey times south in the future. First Hull Trains has submitted a business plan to Network Rail and the Department for Transport (DfT). Under its private finance deal, about £94m would be spent to install 70 miles of electrified Overhead Line Equipment (OHLE) to cover tracks both ways from Hull to Temple Hirst Junction, five miles to the west of Selby. The funding would also include the procurement of new electric trains. Hull Trains' aim would be to undertake the works in the period 2014-17 so that this would be the first section of the Trans-Pennine route to be completed east of Manchester and ready to serve the needs of the City of Culture in 2017 The Chair of the Humber Local Enterprise partnership (LEP) Lord Haskins is also expected to attend the meeting with the Transport Secretary. He said: "Having the right infrastructure makes it more attractive to do business with the Humber so it's our priority to actively support improvements to road and rail to help the region realise its potential as the Energy Estuary and attract investment. "We have been working closely with First Hull Trains and Hull City Council on proposals for the electrification of the Hull to Selby line, which is essential to improve the connectivity of the Humber with northern cities on the Trans Pennine route as well as improve journey times to London."
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