Politicians and rail consultants have reacted furiously to affirmation that a lot of the promised high-speed Northern Powerhouse Rail undertaking throughout the Pennines is to be scrapped as soon as once more.
The 2019 Conservative manifesto pledged: “We are going to construct Northern Powerhouse Rail between Leeds and Manchester after which deal with Liverpool, Tees Valley, Hull, Sheffield and Newcastle.”
In 2021, the then transport secretary, Grant Shapps, stated the Yorkshire part of Northern Powerhouse Rail wouldn’t be constructed. His “Built-in Rail Plan” additionally ditched the jap leg of HS2 from Birmingham to Leeds.
After Liz Truss changed Boris Johnson as prime minister, she promised to construct the high-speed rail hyperlink throughout the north of England. Ms Truss, who was in workplace for under 44 days, confused that plans for a brand new station at Bradford had been resurrected, saying: “It’ll cease at Bradford. I’m very clear about that.”
However Mr Shapps, who’s now the enterprise secretary, advised the BBC the undertaking has, as soon as once more, been ditched – and that there “wasn’t actually a lot level” within the authentic plan.
Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, tweeted: “Sixty instances the Tories promised to degree up the North with the rail infrastructure we have to develop our financial system.
“Whereas they break their guarantees, Labour will construct the Elizabeth Line for the North we deserve.”
Mr Shapps stated: “Throughout the Pennines, connecting locations like Manchester to Leeds and bringing that journey right down to half an hour – which is what we stated we’d do in that manifesto – is actually occurring already,” he stated.
“The road itself can ship a 33-minute journey from Manchester to Leeds, almost quadruple the capability of that line and achieve this with out having to attend an additional 20 years past the supply of what the improve can do.
“There wasn’t actually a lot level in going and blasting new tunnels by way of the Pennines.”
The present quickest journey time between Manchester and Leeds is 50 minutes.
Nigel Harris, editor-in-chief of Rail journal, known as Mr Shapps a “world-class communicator of utter claptrap”.
