HS2’S £3bn rail link to Scotland is axed

MINISTERS have quietly cancelled a £3bn section of HS2 that would have allowed Scotland to benefit from the controversial high-speed rail line.

The 13-mile “Golborne Link” near Manchester is to be culled, HS2 minister Andrew Stephenson has announced.

The decision will come as a blow to Scottish travellers as it was designed to connect the new HS2 with the existing West Coast Main Line, which runs from north Manchester to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Engineers have previously warned against cancelling the Golborne link, saying it “hobbles the value” of HS2.

Mr Stephenson said the Government would now explore new options to link HS2 to Scotland.

He said: “Removing this link is about ensuring that we’ve left no stone unturned when it comes to working with our Scottish counterparts to find a solution that will best serve the great people of Scotland.”

The decision is the latest by the Department for Transport to scale back HS2 in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, is under pressure from the Treasury to cut costs after taxpayers spent £16bn propping up rail services during the pandemic.

Ministers announced last November that a 120-mile eastern spur linking Birmingham and Leeds – the right-hand leg of HS2’S Y-shape – would be scrapped in a blow to Red Wall constituencies.

Whitehall officials had long dubbed the eastern spur the “sacrificial lamb” of the wider project, with engineers unable to keep a lid on spiralling costs.

The Golborne link was designed to split from the main line at Hoo Green in Cheshire before it reaches Manchester Airport. It would have then headed through Warrington to connect to the West Coast Main Line just south of Wigan. HS2 trains would then continue on the existing west coast line up to Scotland.

Mr Stephenson told Parliament late on Monday that the Government would explore alternatives ways to run HS2 services to Scotland.