TRANSPORT secretary Chris Grayling pointed to rail improvements around Bolton while countering ‘misleading’ claims that more is spent on infrastructure projects per capita in the south than the north.

Speaking at a Business North event in Manchester on Friday, September 22, Mr Grayling said that though there were “regional discrepancies”, they were “nothing like those suggested by critics”.

It comes after think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) released statistics showing that more public money has been spent on London’s new Elizabeth Crossrail line that on all projects across northern England combined.

He said: “The figures used were misleading, and certainly do not represent the true picture of investment.”

Pointing to the M6 to Hysham link road, he explained: “Because it was a locally driven project rather than a national scheme, it and scores of schemes like it weren’t counted in the IPPR figures.

“The reality is that when you include those centrally funded and locally delivered projects, this government is spending more per head on transport in the North West than we are in the South East.”

Among local schemes Mr Grayling highlighted were the M60 smart motorway, Ordsall Chord connection between Manchester Victoria and Piccadilly, and electrification of the Manchester-Preston line through Bolton.

He also pointed to the removal of ‘hideous’ Pacer trains and new rolling stock that will provide quicker and more frequent services from Bolton to Manchester.

And in a move that could signal even greater services through Bolton in the future, Mr Grayling said that he’d asked Network Rail to improve on their plans to move 15 trains per hour through Oxford Road – currently a notorious bottle neck.

He pointed to Thameslink’s core digital system that allows 24 trains per hour through stations with only two tracks.

“Why does Manchester have to get an old-fashioned solution where London gets state of the art technology?” he asked.