Yorkshire stuck in sidings of railway revolution

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has proposed a 30bn network that would form a Y-shape, connecting London to Birmingham before splitting into separate forks either side of the Pennines. Journey times from the capital to Leeds and Sheffield would be slashed to around 75 minutes.

The news that the project will come through Yorkshire – potentially boosting the economy by 33bn – was welcomed by business leaders and marks a major milestone in the Yorkshire Post's Fast Track to Yorkshire campaign, which has lobbied for a direct line against the alternative route via Manchester.

However, the timescale for the work has shattered hopes that the benefits would arrive any time soon, with the Yorkshire connection not expected to be finished until the late 2030s.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has refused to commit to a timescale beyond the completion of the first phase to the West Midlands, but yesterday insisted the intention is for the east and west forks to be constructed in tandem.

Nick Pontone, director of policy at the Yorkshire and Humber Chambers of Commerce, said: "The route is good but we need to accelerate the timescales – Yorkshire urgently needs new rail capacity and can't wait for 30 years."

Mr Pontone said to deliver the network more quickly, the Government must speed up the planning system and make a clear commitment to the funding for the full plans.

He said: "While this is good news, there is significant scepticism whether all of the political parties will see this through.

"A 25-year timescale would encompass at least five general elections and probably more than a dozen transport ministers – political consensus is vital to deliver high-speed rail."

A DfT spokesman said it expected the first link to Birmingham to be completed by the "mid 2020s" and commuters will be able to reduce their journey times by travelling to Birmingham then into London on the new high-speed trains.

Once the lines to the North are complete, journey times from Leeds could be kept to within minutes of those from Sheffield by using the quickest, most direct route, reducing the numbers of stops.

Jim Steer, director of high- speed rail lobby group Greengauge 21, called for more ambition from the Government.

He said: "In Yorkshire it would be right to ask for benefits that don't need to wait for stage two, which could be the late 2030s. I think we could be and should be more ambitious."

The overall cost of 30bn would be phased over more than a decade after the start of construction which would not be until after the completion of the London Crossrail project in 2017. Mr Steer believes it would be possible to start work two years earlier and suspects the timing is being dictated by funding needs, although the Government has suggested it is because the expertise needed will be required on Crossrail.

Tory leader David Cameron pledged that his party would build a high-speed link to Leeds by 2027. However, the Conservative proposals are not direct and would force Yorkshire commuters to travel to London via Manchester.

The report to Lord Adonis, by the Whitehall-commissioned HS2 company, stated that journey times between London and Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester would come down from around two hours 10 minutes now to 75 minutes when the new network is in place. It also estimated high-speed rail will create 10,000 jobs.

The London-Birmingham route is now subject to further work and public consultation.

The Government proposes to secure the powers to deliver any high-speed network by means of a single Bill. Depending on the outcome of consultation and Parliamentary timescales and approval, this should allow the network opening in phases from 2026.