Summary
New infrastructure such as major transport projects promises huge benefits. London and the South East are currently looking forward to Crossrail, the start of HS2 and much more besides. But how does all this look from further north? Chris Bowlby heads for his home territory in the north east of England to discover a region full of new ideas about future connections, but worried that current national plans risk leaving it lagging behind. And what, he asks, might this mean for the whole country's future?
Producer: Chris Bowlby Editor: Hugh Levinson.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.6 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.4 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable |
| 0:14.3 | experts and genuinely engaging voices. What you may not know is that the BBC |
| 0:20.4 | makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | This is the BBC. |
| 0:40.0 | Thanks for downloading analysis, the podcast about the ideas behind the news. |
| 0:45.0 | Infrastructure has been much in the headlines lately, with the North Enduring Rail Time Table Chaos, |
| 0:50.0 | Sorry if you've been stuck in it, while the South powers ahead with projects like a third Heathrow runway. |
| 0:56.0 | So when it comes to infrastructure, has the North been left behind? |
| 1:00.0 | Chris Bulby presents disconnected Britain. |
| 1:03.0 | May I have your attention please. |
| 1:07.0 | It's a busy weekday morning here at my home railway station of Oxford. Commuters juggling |
| 1:15.8 | cappuccinos can choose if they're heading to London between two different direct lines. |
| 1:20.9 | Before long they'll be able to change on to crossrail to speed things up even more. |
| 1:25.0 | And for hyper mobile academics, the serious talk of a new line from here all the way to Cambridge. |
| 1:31.0 | There's a motorway link to London too and ever expanding Heathrows not far away for those going further. |
| 1:37.0 | So lots of good transport infrastructure to choose from. |
| 1:41.0 | But I'm not using any of that. I'm making what's a rather bad infrastructure |
| 1:46.0 | quality decision by traveling towards the northeast of England. |
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