Rishi Sunak promises new ‘Network North’ after scrapping northern leg of HS2

During a speech at the Conservative Conference in Manchester, he said the cost of the high-speed rail project has spiralled out of control and the economic case has been “massively weakened” by a post-pandemic drop in passenger numbers.

Mr Sunak said phase one, linking Birmingham and central London, will be completed as planned but phase two, which was due to link Birmingham and Manchester by 2035 at the earliest, will be scrapped.

Labour mayors in the North were dismayed by the decision, claiming they need new high-speed lines to relieve pressure on the region’s crowded rail network, improve connectivity and drive economic growth.

After the Leeds leg was axed official estimates suggested HS2 could cost up to £71bn. But that figure, set in 2019 prices, was expected to rise significantly later this year when it was revised and inflation was taken into account.

The Prime Minister said scrapping phase two will allow the Government to spend billions on projects “that will make a real difference”, including a new £19.8bn scheme called Network North, which promises to improve bus and rail journeys across the region.

As part of that scheme, the Government has promised £3bn will be spent on upgrading and electrifying lines running between Manchester and Sheffield, as well as lines linking Leeds, Sheffield and Hull.

Another £2bn has been earmarked for a new station in Bradford and £2.5bn will be provided for a long-awaited mass transit scheme in West Yorkshire.

The Government has also said £12bn will be provided for new lines linking Liverpool and Manchester, which are needed to complete the Northern Powerhouse Rail network. Under previous plans, those line were due to be built as part of HS2.

“What we really need is better transport connections in the north – a new Network North – that will join up our great towns and cities in the north and the midlands,” said Mr Sunak. “This is the right way to drive growth and spread opportunity across our country; to level up.

“With our new Network North, you will be able to get from Manchester to the new station in Bradford in 30 minutes, to Sheffield in 42 minutes and to Hull in 84 minutes on a fully electrified line.”

He also said HS2 services will run in the north on existing lines, meaning passengers will be able to travel from London Euston to Manchester in 1 hour and 40 minutes – 27 minutes faster than existing services.

But Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said Northerners should be sceptical about the announcement, after the Government abandoned promises to build HS2.

She added: “After this Tory fiasco, why should anyone believe the Tories can deliver anything they say?”

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said the HS2 announcement “is yet another betrayal of the North which will punish passengers and businesses”.

“As we have found with this government, the devil is in the detail and we can’t take them at their word," she added.

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

He favoured the cheaper alternative – set out in the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) in November 2021 – of building 40 miles of high-speed railway between Warrington and Marsden and upgrading existing lines.