Commuters all across Leeds and West Yorkshire were left devastated as Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday announced that the eastern leg of HS2 up to Leeds would be scrapped.
This comes after he previously stated in February that the eastern leg and the whole of HS2 would be developed.
Rail engineer, writer and Rail Natter host Gareth Dennis was disappointed with the PM seemingly going back on his word:
“The impact on Leeds cannot be overstated. Where previously we had new high speed platforms to free up space for more suburban services both east and west, we now have nothing.”
“Where previously we had the potential for high density, Thameslink-style metro services over the Pennines to Manchester and everywhere in-between, we have a reduction in local services to facilitate long distance trains.”
The eastern leg of HS2 is now slated to run from Birmingham to East Midlands Parkway, with HS2 trains then running as far as Sheffield but on pre-existing mainline tracks.
The PM says the plan is to connect Leeds to the high-speed network eventually but has not put a timescale on when this could happen, he has started a “new survey” on the best way to achieve this.
Dennis, however, is convinced that action needs to be taken much sooner:
“Where Leeds should have had a high speed service via Bradford to Manchester: these trains will be less reliable as they mix with local services and they’ll also require the sacrificing of local services and maybe even stations.”
“It’s nothing short of a betrayal.”
It has instead been proposed that Leeds will receive £200m funding for a long awaited tram system which would serve the city and other parts of West Yorkshire, as Leeds is currently the largest city in Western Europe without its own metro system.
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