Former South Yorkshire Mayor Dan Jarvis urged Ministers to “get on with it” and launch the study, which was promised after the high-speed rail project was scaled back 14 months ago.

“Ukraine, currently at war, worked with Romania to re-open a railway line in just six months – showing that decisions on rail investment are down to priorities, ambition, and the targeting of resources,” he told MPs in the House of Commons.

“To that end, the Government is sending a loud and clear message to Yorkshire that our neglected and decrepit rail network is not their priority.”

Former South Yorkshire Mayor Dan Jarvis urged Ministers to “get on with it” and launch the £100m HS2 study

The MP for Barnsley Central added: “I know Yorkshire leaders are ready and waiting to make the most out of this study. So, my message to the Rail Minister is simple – get on with it.”

Rail Minister Huw Merriman said he will provide an update on the study “very shortly”.

“I am aware that that study needs to get out so that we can really look at how we can get those HS2 trains up to Leeds and the other impacts that will actually have on Leeds,” he added.

“There are discussions going on in the department, there have been this week, as to how we can move that forward.”

An artists impression of what the new HS2 trains could look like. Manufacturers Hitachi and Alstom have signed a £2bn contract to build a fleet of trains to serve the new network.

The Government’s Integrated Rail Plan, published in November 2021, stated the eastern leg of HS2 will stop at East Midlands Parkway, but trains will then run on an existing line to Sheffield and £100m will be spent on a study that will “look at the most effective way to run HS2 trains to Leeds”.

It also said some of the funding would be used to find “the most optimal solution” for capacity issues at Leeds Station and begin work on the West Yorkshire Mass Transit System.

The launch of the study, known as the Leeds Area Study, has been delayed after the Treasury reportedly questioned the cost and 14 months later Northern leaders are still waiting for an update.

Transport for the North has revealed the study is expected to take 18 months to two years to complete, but it cannot begin until Transport Secretary Mark Harper publishes the terms of reference.

When he was HS2 Minister, Andrew Stephenson said the Leeds Area Study will look at the original plans, potential upgrades to existing lines and “a hybrid approach”.

In October, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove suggested capital investment for HS2 would be reviewed, but Chancellor Jeremy Hunt subsequently backed Europe’s largest infrastructure project.

The target cost of Phase 1 between London and Birmingham is £40.3bn at 2019 prices.

The Government’s latest cost estimate for Phase 2a, from the West Midlands to Crewe, is £5.2bn and £7.2bn at 2019 prices.

The budget for Phase 2b, which will see the high-speed railway extended from Crewe to Manchester and from the West Midlands to the East Midlands, has not been confirmed.

A budget of £55.7bn for the whole of HS2 was set back in 2015.

Government urged to ‘get on with it’ and launch £100m HS2 study