The electrification of a major rail route has been put back on the agenda after two regional daily campaigns.

Both the Manchester Evening News and the Yorkshire Post called on George Osborne to reverse the decision to pause electrification work between the two cities back in July.

Last week the government announced the work would again go ahead, but it is not set to be completed until 2022.

The MEN’s scheme was called ‘Stop the #NorthernPowercut’, while the Post’s went under the name ‘Back on Track’.

A Post editorial read: “Although the Government was not sufficiently clear on the original objectives of HS2, high-speed rail is critical to the future of train travel – this scheme, the biggest infrastructure project ever to be undertaken in this country, will ease capacity on the existing network and pave the way for more regional services to run.

“However the Department for Transport needs to recognise that the demand for these additional trains is immediate – the number of passengers using Leeds station has increased by 146 per cent in 10 years– and the electrification of the TransPennine route, now back on track following a campaign led by The Yorkshire Post, will not be completed until 2022.

“Yet, while commuters will have been reassured by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin’s assurances that the outdated Pacer services – little more than buses with train wheels bolted on the under-carriage – will be consigned to the scrap heap by the end of the decade, he needs to ensure that the new TransPennine Express and Northern franchises reflect the record demand for train services in this region.

“It is imperative that Mr McLoughlin awards these deals to rail operators who are prepared to invest in Yorkshire commuter services now. With a disproportionate amount of public money continuing to be spent on London-centric schemes like Crossrail, it will be iniquitious –and also a betrayal of the Northern Powerhouse’s wider economic objectives – if travellers have to wait for the completion of HS2 before they get a local railway which alleviates the intolerable levels of overcrowding being experienced at present.”

The MEN has not so far responded to requests for a comment on the issue.