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HS2 Ltd has not yet been instructed by the Department for Transport (DfT) to begin the promised investigations into how to bring the high-speed line to Leeds.
The West Yorkshire city was intended to be the terminus of the eastern leg of HS2, but with the release of the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) last November, that was curtailed, with the eastern branch now only going as far as the Midlands. This is despite Leeds having safeguarded land in the city for many years in preparation for the high-speed line’s arrival.
Instead, the government stated: “the IRP provides £100M to look at the most effective way to run HS2 trains to Leeds, including understanding the most optimal solution for Leeds station capacity, and start work on the new West Yorkshire Mass Transit System”.
It is now eight months on from the publication of the IRP, but work to look at how to get HS2 trains to Leeds is yet to begin.
Speaking at NCE’s Future of Rail conference on 6 July, HS2 Phase 2 director Tim Smart said: “We will work with Network Rail as to how we can get our train sets from the East Midlands Parkway area through to ultimately Leeds. The government made available £100M to look at how we can do that, and that’s work that we are expecting to be instructed to do fairly shortly, which achieves getting HS2 into the east.”
Responding to the news, Leeds City Council leader James Lewis said: “It has been eight months since the publication of the integrated rail plan last year and we are yet to receive confirmation on the terms of reference or start date for the study. The council is committed to working with government and our partners to bring high speed rail to Leeds from the East Midlands as per the IRP and to ensure that upgrades in capacity for the city are fast tracked and delivered without further delay.”
West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin said: “We need to see the right transport connections for the people of West Yorkshire to meet the ambitions for our region.
“HS2 and a new high-speed line between Leeds and Manchester, with that crucial stop in Bradford, would have brought additional jobs and investment to the region. They would also drive forward redevelopment around the new stations, as we’ve seen happen elsewhere.
“However, eight months on, we’re still waiting for government to agree the scope of the promised study to get High Speed Trains to Leeds. We stand ready to get this going, but government indecision is preventing us, and that indecision is likely to continue after recent events in Westminster.”
Institution of Civil Engineers director of policy Chris Richards said: “This is indicative of the loose timeline and likely delays we see throughout the Integrated Rail Plan. I applaud its intention to upgrade rail services across the North and Midlands – improving public transport is key to both the levelling up and net zero agendas – but we now need to accelerate delivery.
“That’s why the ICE and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure have launched a consultation on the realistic timescales, and seeking ideas on how we can deliver all the benefits of the plan quicker. We want the best workable ideas from infrastructure professionals so the public can get the rail services they want and deserve.”
Railway Industry Association chief executive Darren Caplan said: “RIA has consistently said that only by building HS2 in full will the full benefits of the project be realised, in terms of connecting communities, towns and cities across the UK, and delivering significant additional rail capacity, jobs and economic benefits. That is why the decision to scrap the Eastern Leg was so disappointing, and why we urge the Government to reinstate it to the scheme as soon as possible.”
Bradford Council strategic director of place Jason Longhurst said: “If we are going to unlock the economic potential of West Yorkshire then it is essential that the government delivers on its promise of a world-class transport network.
“It is vital that getting HS2 to Leeds remains on the agenda - just as it is vital that the government looks again at its decision to scrap the planned high-speed line linking Manchester to Bradford and Leeds.
“It is that much harder to deliver levelling-up when the arteries that link our great cities - our great engines of growth - lack the capacity and speed that others take for granted.”
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A technical report by Motts of details behind the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) was eventually published. Motts ideas ought to be amongst the options considered in the £100,000 study into how best to serve Leeds.
Motts showed that the IRP’s promised new Nottingham services could potentially start at Newcastle via York and an ECML spur near Newark with major off-line improvements costing in all £11 billion more than the IRP approved proposals and cost ceiling.
Motts 5 options cost an estimated £4 to £15 billion more than the IRP approvals, which allocated £13 billion funding for their “Hybrid to Sheffield” option. Motts Figure 3 shows new build sections as solid blue & green lines.
Until a Leeds/Newcastle solution is chosen and built, two of the Eastern Arm train paths provide a spare platform at HS2 Euston. That spare is needed for late running trains, to achieve HS2’s planned reliability and ultimate capacity (18 trains per hour (tph)), as discussed by William Barter in his September New Civil Engineer (NCE) online article.
If the chosen Eastern Arm solution includes a long term reduction in the number of Eastern Arm paths, there is no need to consider providing a spare platform for HS2’s currently planned 17 tph. If the number required is not reduced at least 3 ideas are worth considering.
The BEST alternative would be to trade off some reliability by turning round “captive” HS2 trains quicker, as they never leave HS2. The Manchester and Birmingham shuttle services would get dedicated platforms instead of having to oscillate between platforms 9, 3 &1 as planned in HS2’s illustrative timetable.
The DfT is quite right to go slow on this. Given the shortage of funding for railway investment, surely the obsession of getting a few minutes faster from Leeds to London can be met by using the upgraded ECML.
Leeds needs east west improvements as does Birmingham towards Derby and Nottingham but surely the most pressing work needed is to sort out East West regional services, including a through tunnel and stations under Manchester and perhaps Leeds as well.
And why the obsession with HS2 doing the work? Is not Network Rail and its successor GBR more than capable so that we have a fully integrated network where the demand is greatest – for regional and local services?
Yes and yes Tony. Through stations in tunnels at Manchester and Leeds enabling trains running east-west and north-south without the absurd idea that trains should just go to London from terminus stations. Then integrating various projects as it is the overall network that delivers value to society.
I agree with Tony’s comments about HS2’s assumption that they will be doing the work. Network Rail is more than capable and they would generate a fully integrated network. I hope the apparent delay is caused by DfT waiting for further work by Motts (liaising with Network Rail) before DfT involves HS2.
A more urgent task is for DfT to re-allocate the £3 billion of expenditure deferred by the recent Golborne Link decision. That ought to be plenty to link Liverpool to Manchester Airport and Piccadilly and perhaps beyond as a new NPR semi-fast service. An early service opportunity linking Liverpool to parts of Manchester which are currently badly served from Liverpool
Leeds’ and other claims ought to be much more than that and their funding requirements need to be identified for the 2025 Comprehensive Spending Review.
Dont you think with the construction of a new line to leeds sacked in 20-30 yrs or even less time the government will be kicking themselves in the shin saying ‘why did we scrap that’. By then prices in construction will of gone up, the land for a route will be harder to get and the transport system will be even more overloaded! Then again some HS2 is better than none 🙂
Should the headline actually read: “HS2 yet to be instructed by DfT to begin investigation to bring trains to Leeds”?