The Government has instead set out a raft of route improvements and plans to build a mass transit system for West Yorkshire as part of its £96Bn Integrated Rail Plan for the north and the Midlands.

Transport for the North’s interim chair Louise Gittins described the Plan as “woefully inadequate”. Northern leaders, she added, worked hard with Government to come up with a plan “to help reverse the chasm of under investment over the last four decades.

“That doesn’t mean a bit here and a bit there of minor upgrades to the existing network. It means transformational change for the whole rail network. That means building HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail in full.”

The Association for Consultancy & Engineering’s transport group chair Andy Bell commented: “Just 18 months ago the Prime Minister told Parliament that it ‘does not make any sense’ to build Northern Powerhouse Rail without High Speed 2 and the Government’s strategy was to do both ‘simultaneously’.

“Clearly the pandemic has strained public finances since then, but another change of approach does not help an engineering sector scaling up skills and resources – at a time of global demand for rail expertise – around what appeared to be clear commitments and pledges.”

Logistics UK’s public policy manager Alexandra Herdman described the scrapping of the eastern leg of High Speed 2 as “a blow for efficient and sustainable supply chains across the region” but welcomed a promised upgrade to a freight corridor across the Pennines.

“This upgrade will enable containers to move swiftly from ports in the North East to major northern cities, which will help to support local economic development, while removing lorries from our congested roads and supporting the UK’s decarbonisation goals,” she said.

Arcadis’ UK managing director for rail Richard Hoare recognised that Government finances and passenger numbers have come under huge strain post Covid, and said any package of investment in the rail network should be welcome.

But he added: “Until the solution to get high speed trains to Leeds is in place, the plan isn’t as fully integrated as hoped, and so naturally many will be disappointed.” Richard continued: “The strategic decision to prioritise connectivity within the region while investing in the high speed network will give a strong chance of delivering improved services for the towns and cities that can most benefit and have been historically underfunded.”

Aecom’s managing director for civil infrastructure in the UK and Ireland, Mark Southwell said the decision not to deliver High Speed 2 in full and a scaled back new line for Northern Powerhouse Rail “is a lost opportunity” for the communities the lines would serve, as well as the rail industry which was geared up to deliver.

However, he added there is much to welcome in the Integrated Rail Plan in terms of its ambition to rapidly strengthen connections between regional towns and cities. “For so many years the North and Midlands have suffered from terrible rail connections and the sooner these communities get new rail, the sooner they benefit.”
 
Law firm Addleshaw Goddard’s co-head of transport Paul Hirst said: “While the commitment to a tram system in Leeds is welcome, Leeds is in limbo in relation to when and how HS2 trains will even be able to call there, regardless at what speed they travel. The journey times from Leeds to cities in the North and Midlands will be better but not transformed, in contrast to the position in Manchester where transformational journey times will be delivered.
 
"That said, there is an unprecedented package of measures announced that will have a hugely positive impact on many people's lives. The key is to turn the commitment into spades in the ground as soon as humanly possible.”

National Infrastructure Commission chair Sir John Armitt was more upbeat. He said: “We now have a realistic plan for major long term investments to improve rail for the North and Midlands in the face of public spending constraints.

“It is sensible that the Integrated Rail Plan takes an adaptive approach, setting out a core pipeline of investment that should speed up delivery of benefits for communities and businesses.”

He added that if additional funding becomes available the focus should be on further improving connections between Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford and Hull which are the kind of regional links likely to enhance economic benefits.”
 
A High Speed Rail Group spokesman said of the Integrated Rail Plan that if last week’s announcements had come from a standing start, “the industry would doubtless have been pleased with the investment. But the reality is they represent a reduction in the previous plans for both HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail.
 
“The new high speed rail links, which will change the nation’s economic geography, are one of the very few ways to spur levelling up outside of the South East.”

The U-turn “significantly dents confidence in the sector” and revisiting questions that had previously been settled, “is one of the biggest drivers of high infrastructure costs in this country. It is imperative that the Government now set out clear timescales for the proposed projects to move forward, and then stick to them.”
 
Campaign for Better Transport chief executive Paul Tuohy welcomed commitments to electrification and to improving local transport such as the Leeds metro. “However, it is vital that abysmally connected Bradford is not left behind - the city needs and deserves much better integrated and faster rail connections to both Leeds and Manchester as a matter of priority.”

Midlands Connect chair Sir John Peace said that the Plan has a “lot of positives and lots of things to be excited about” such as Government’s backing of the Midlands Rail Hub. “We now need to re-double our efforts and move this project from planning to delivery.”

(Image: Capita)