HS2: Long-awaited study looking at ‘most effective way' to run trains to Leeds is launched

The Leeds Study was promised 20 months ago when the Department of Transport published the controversial Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) and revealed it was planning to scale back plans for HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail.

The £96bn IRP stated that the eastern leg of the high-speed rail line will stop at East Midlands Parkway and trains will then run on an existing line to Sheffield.

But Rail Minister Huw Merriman said the new study – expected to take two years to complete – will explore several different options, including the original plan to build HS2 in full and ensure the line eventually reaches Leeds.

However, it comes amid growing concerns about the spiralling cost of Europe’s largest infrastructure project, which is expected to reach £71bn even if services never reach West Yorkshire.

The study will look at proposals to run HS2 services from Manchester to Leeds, or from Sheffield to Leeds, by upgrading existing lines.

A plan to have high-speed services run from Nottingham to Leeds, via Newark and the East Coast Main Line route, is being considered.

The Department of Transport said there is also an option to run services to Leeds via Erewash in Derbyshire, by upgrading the Erewash Valley and Old Road lines as well as building a new section of line “to complete a route to Leeds”.

Mr Merriman said the study will consider all of the options and “take account of value for money, affordability, deliverability and timescales, economic development, disruption to passengers and local views”.

The Tory Minister said the study will also explore various proposals to increase capacity at Leeds station, including adding new platforms, changing timetables and altering routes.

He promised £40m to help West Yorkshire Combined Authority develop plans for a mass transit scheme that will link various towns and cities, including Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield. Construction is due to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2040.

It comes after the Government promised to reconsider its plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail, claiming it will look at “a range of different network options” and consider building a new station in Bradford.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has previously resisted calls to deliver Transport for the North’s plan for a £43bn network, with high-speed lines which run between Liverpool to Leeds, via Manchester and Bradford.

He has favoured the cheaper alternative – set out in the IRP in November 2021 – for one new 40-mile high-speed line between Warrington and Marsden and upgrades to existing infrastructure.

However, the Department of Transport has vowed to conduct “updated analysis” of the project and explore “alternatives” to the current plan as it conducts “a full value for money assessment”, before publishing the business case later this year.

The department also promised to reassess “the evidence for better connecting Bradford and the case for a new station” in the city.

However, it comes as the Government is facing calls to scrap HS2 amid growing concerns about the cost.

Phase 1, which will link the West Midlands and London, is currently expected to cost up to £44.6bn and open between 2029 to 2033.

Mr Merriman recently confirmed services will begin running between Old Oak Common in London and Curzon Street in Birmingham by 2033, however plans for the redesigned HS2 station at Euston have been delayed.

HS2 trains are now not expected to run into Euston until 2041 at the earliest after initially being scheduled for 2026, and the cost is predicted to balloon from £2.6 bn to £4.8bn.

Phase 2a, linking West Midlands to Crewe, is due to be delivered between 2030 and 2034, and cost up to £7bn. While Phase 2b, which will run from Crewe to Manchester, is expected to cost up to £22bn and open between 2035 to 2041.

Mr Merriman said: “Significant progress has already been made since our £96bn Integrated Rail Plan was launched, marking the Government's single largest investment in our railways since their creation.

"Now, our commitment to better-connect the Midlands and North to incite local growth and boost economies remains just as strong.

“Spades are already in the ground to deliver HS2, and today we're delivering another Government promise to explore the best way to run HS2 services to the great city of Leeds.”