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Earlier improvements and help for towns as well as big cities as Integrated Rail Plan drops parts of HS2 and NPR November 18, 2021

Commitment to West Yorkshire Mass Transit system

The eastern arm of HS2 high speed rail plans which would have linked Leeds to Birmingham and London was dropped by the Government on Thursday (November 18) as it instead announced £96bn of upgrades aimed at a more integrated rail network for the North.

Dropping of the high-prestige project has upset those whose regular journeys from Leeds involve travelling to either Birmingham or to London but the scheme will now allow other towns and cities to be served more directly along the way.

Bradford will keep its city centre Interchange station, a well-placed destination for theatres, museums, shopping and the City Hall in Bradford, but journeys to Leeds will be cut to 12 minutesFour-tracking and electrification on the present main trans-Pennine route will continueA section of the proposed Northern Powerhouse Rail — a new line between Leeds, Bradford and Manchester — has also been abandoned. A high-speed route, as proposed, would inevitably have required many miles of new tunelling, particularly on the 30 miles through the Pennines between Bradford and Manchester, as well as bypassing Halifax and Oldham and the building of a new through station just outside the city centre in Bradford.

The main trans-Pennine route will continue to be via the existing trans-Pennine line from Leeds to Manchester via Dewsbury and Huddersfield, where there are already plans for new fast tracks alongside tracks for stopping services. From Marsden, at the edge of West Yorkshire, it will join new tracks to Manchester and Warrington with journeys continuing to Liverpool.

Making the announcement, Transport Minister Grant Shapps said journey times from York to Manchester would be cut to 55 minutes and Leeds to Manchester to 33 minutes. Hull to Manchester would be 30 minutes faster. Bradford would be given an improvement in travel times to Leeds, down to 12 minutes.

Mr Shapps also committed to the development of a West Yorkshire Mass Transit system and an upgrade of the East Coast Main Line, while the Midland main line would be upgraded between Kettering in Northamptonshire and Market Harborough in Leicestershire.

He said the improvements of the Integrated Rail Plan would be delivered 10 years sooner than the 2040 of the original plan and would deliver for passengers and freight.

The Government has also announced a plan to invest in a contactless pay-as-you-go ticketing system across the Midlands and North.

Our HS2 Effect research in 2019• A Yorkshire.guide study two years ago and updated early last year assessed cities and major towns throughout the Yorkshire region for the benefits HS2 would bring in travelling from Yorkshire to London upon completion of the proposed section between the Midlands and Leeds.

Further details about that study can still be found on The HS2 Effect page.

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