Integrated Rail Plan

Published by the Department for Transport on November 18, the Integrated Rail Plan was described by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps as an “unprecedented commitment to build a worldclass railway that delivers for passengers and freight”. The IRP:

■ Axes HS2’s leg to Leeds, instead terminating the line at East Midlands Parkway, near Nottingham.

■ Ditches ambitions to build a new line across the Pennines, replacing it with a new Manchester-Marsden line while upgrading existing routes east of Marsden to Leeds.

■ Builds a new line west of Manchester towards Warrington and upgrades the freight-route to Liverpool via Fiddlers Ferry.

■ Electrifies the Midland Main Line to Sheffield and upgrades the East Coast Main Line as a replacement for HS2’s eastern leg to Leeds.

■ Completes HS2’s western leg from Crewe to Manchester, including a link to the West Coast Main Line at Golborne (later axed).

■ Completes HS2 Phase 1 from London to the West Midlands and Phase 2a from the West Midlands to Crewe.