Improved passenger connections between High Speed 2 and ‘Northern Powerhouse Rail’ have been proposed at Manchester’s Piccadilly and Airport stations and at Crewe, as Government takes forward plans for HS2’s western leg of Phase 2B.

But this news came as council leaders and MPs in and around Yorkshire wrote to the Prime Minister asking for the full delivery of all phases of the high speed rail scheme, including its eastern leg.

Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake of the ‘HS2 East’ group said: “It is essential that the Government commits to delivering the eastern leg in full and at the same time as the western leg, accelerating our regions’ recovery and regeneration.”

Leeds Central MP Hilary Benn added that delivery of the eastern leg will help to create jobs, unlock regeneration and increase productivity to help reduce social inequality.

In a report last month, the group spoke of an ‘east-west divide’ and claimed that communities around the eastern leg of High Speed 2 have lower productivity, poorer social mobility and receive lower levels of transport investment than areas around the western leg from Birmingham to Manchester.

Transport for the North director Tim Wood welcomed the proposed closer integration between High Speed 2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail as part of developments to the western leg.

He said the announcement “marks solid progress and further evidence of these projects becoming reality in the north”. But he added: “We must ensure that this investment allows for benefits to be shared equally across the north.

“Therefore it is vital the Government's Integrated Rail Plan commits to bringing forward plans for the HS2 eastern leg connecting the Midlands with Yorkshire, including Sheffield and Leeds, and getting spades in the ground in the north as soon as possible.”

On phase one of High Speed 2, a contract was signed on Friday for the first two tunnel boring machines which will drive twin 21km long tunnels to the north west of London. Creation of the tunnels will take place in three sections: from Euston to Old Oak Common, from Old Oak to Greenford, and on towards West Ruislip. Work will be carried out by the Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture. Each machine will measure 140m in length and run for 22 months.

(Photograph: Network Rail)