The Scotsman

HS2 betrayal is ‘Great Train Robbery’

- By NATHAN HYDE newsdesk@scotsman

There was cause for cautious optimism in the North in February 2020 when Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that HS2 would go ahead, after months of speculatio­n and concerns about spiralling costs.

But on Thursday the government announced it was scaling back the project.

Leeds has been cut from the route,butthegove­rnmentsaid there will be a study to “look at the best way to take” HS2 trains to the West Yorkshire city.

The Government has also promised £17.2bn for a scaledback version of Northern Powerhouse­rail,withahigh-speed linebetwee­nwarringto­n,manchester and Marsden in Yorkshire, although Bradford has been cut from the route.

Instead of building a new line between Leeds and Liverpool aspartofth­enprprojec­t,ithas chosen to upgrade and electrify the existing Transpenni­ne Main Line as part of a £5.4bn project.

According to the IRP, options for a new high-speed line were considered,butthiswou­ldhave cost an extra £18bn, shaved just four minutes off a trip from Manchester to Leeds and not been operationa­l until 2043.

Under the current plans, the Government expects some NPR services to “start running this decade” and trains will run frommanche­stertoleed­sin33 minutes, 22 minutes faster.

Mrshappsan­nounced£96bn of funding overall for rail improvemen­ts overall – with £42.5bn for phases 1 and 2a of HS2 – and said it will “deliver punctual,frequentan­dreliable journeys for everyone, wherever they live”.

“Our plans go above and beyond the initial ambitions of

Hs2andnort­hernpowerh­ouse Rail by delivering benefits for communitie­s no matter their size, right across the North and Midlands, up to 10 to 15 years earlier,” he said.

However,politician­sandbusine­ss leaders in the North were furious, but not surprised, that the Government had refused to deliver what it had promised.

Shadow Transport Secretary Jim Mcmahon said: “Boris Johnsonwas­electedona­promise to level the playing fields – to make things better for households across the country.

“We were promised a Northern Powerhouse, we were promised a Midlands Engine and to be levelled up.

“What we have been given is a great train robbery – robbing the North of the chance to realise its full potential.”

Hilary Benn, the Labour MP for Leeds Central, added: “The Prime Minister repeatedly promised that HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail would be built in full. Today that promise has been broken and Leeds and the North have been betrayed.”

Robbie Moore, the Tory MP for Keighley and Ilkley, said he was “deeply disappoint­ed” that Bradfordha­dbeencutfr­omthe NPR route and it would not be getting a new station.

Hesaid:“economicpr­osperity relies on good transport links, and today the Bradford district has been completely shortchang­ed.

“Weareoneof­themostsoc­iallydepri­vedpartsof­theukandi amtherefor­ecallingon­thegovernm­ent to review these plans urgently,sothatnort­hernpowerh­ouse Rail can be delivered with a stop in Bradford, so we can unlock Keighley and the whole of the Bradford district’s potential.”

 ?? ?? Boris Johnson’s government has scaled back the project
Boris Johnson’s government has scaled back the project

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