HS2: Mayor looking for answers as reports suggest services may never reach Leeds

Reports in the national press state Ministers are considering plans to completely cut Leeds from the route, reduce the number of services that run each hour and cut the maximum speed on the line, as part of a series of measures designed to curb soaring costs.

The Department of Transport said it “does not comment on speculation” and it is committed to delivering HS2, which is currently expected to cost between £53bn and £71bn (in 2019 prices).

The Government appeared to scale back plans for the high-speed line, as part of the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) in November 2021, and said the eastern leg would stop at East Midlands Parkway.

Several Ministers have since promised that HS2 services will eventually reach Leeds and a £100m study will determine whether a new line needs to be built, or upgrades should just be made to the existing track.

But months 14 after the IRP was published, Northern leaders are still waiting for that study to begin.

“We are still waiting to hear from Ministers about how they will bring high-speed rail to Yorkshire a year after they ditched plans for the eastern leg of HS2,” said Ms Brabin.

“But I am clear that the North needs its fair share of transport investment if we are to genuinely level up across the UK.

“I have written to the Rail Minister urging him to come good on the government’s promise and will be meeting with him later this month to press our case.”

Rail Minister Huw Merriman is due to visit West Yorkshire later this month and speak to local leaders about improving rail links to Bradford, after the revised plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail sparked a backlash.

Transport for the North, which had drawn up plans for a £43bn network, called for a new high-speed line to be built between Leeds and Manchester, with a stop in Bradford, another new line from Warrington to Liverpool and upgrades to existing lines across the North.

The Government, which took charge of the project in November, instead opted to spend £17.2bn on building a 40-mile high-speed line between Warrington and Marsden and decided to cut Bradford from the route, claiming this option would be more cost effective, and delivered sooner.

In October, Transport Secretary Mark Harper told MPs Phase 1 of the high-speed rail project, that will link London and the West Midlands, “remains within its overall budget" of £44.6bn, despite inflationary pressures, and services will begin running between 2029 and 2033.

Phase 2a, linking West Midlands to Crewe, is expected to cost up to £7.2bn and be delivered between 2030 and 2034.

While Phase 2b, linking Crewe and Manchester, is due to be delivered between 2035 and 2041, and cost up to £19bn.

Last month, reports suggesting the line would not reach Euston Station in Central London as it was being re-routed to save money, were dismissed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.