Economy

Chamber network “deeply disappointed” at rail u-turn

The eastern leg of HS2 has been scrapped and plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) have been downgraded, the government has confirmed.

Unveiling the new plan in

the Commons, transport secretary Grant Shapps confirmed that the eastern leg of HS2 will no longer go all the way to Leeds. Instead, it will stop in the East Midlands near Nottingham.

The announcement rows back on previous pledges that the high-speed route to Leeds would be built. Under the original plans, HS2 was meant to connect London to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester. There is also a scaling back of a new trans-Pennine rail route between Manchester and Leeds as part of the NPR project, which is designed to improve links between major northern cities. A combination of new track and enhancements to existing infrastructure will be made along this route instead. Reacting to the news that the eastern leg of HS2 and NPR will no longer proceed as planned, Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “This will be a huge disappointment to the thousands of businesses that were relying on HS2 and NPR to fire up economic regeneration through the improved capacity and connectivity of our rail network. “While some places will benefit from these revised proposals, many companies have built their plans for the future around what they believed was a firm commitment from government to see these projects through in full. “The economic benefits that they would have brought to areas across the Midlands and the north would have improved the lives of countless generations and created growth opportunities for businesses across the country. “There is also grave concern that without more capacity on our railways, any significant progress on shifting more freight transportation off our roads and onto the rail network will be stymied, making it much more difficult to achieve our net zero ambitions.”

Richard Burge, chief executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said: “This watered-down proposal is not just a blow to the north, it’s a betrayal of the much-hyped levelling up agenda. It’s hugely disappointing that after the positive announcement of a new export strategy, the government’s commitment to invest in productivity gains for the future has been compromised. “Coming right off the heels of COP26, the announcement moves the country away from infrastructure projects that deliver a more sustainable future for British transport; this is especially disconcerting. “It’s difficult to understand how the government expects the UK to compete globally with the most advanced economies when we cannot deliver decent connectivity between our own cities. Delivering a high-wage economy, which the Prime Minister has made a stated aim, will require significant investments. The recently published Integrated Rail Plan falls well short of what’s needed to deliver the infrastructure necessary to secure Britain’s economic future.”

“This will be a huge disappointment to the thousands of businesses that were relying on HS2 and NPR to fire up economic regeneration through the improved capacity and connectivity of our rail network.”