Scrapping northern leg of HS2 would be bitter blow - York campaigner

Rishi Sunak insists he won't be rushed on a decision about the high speed line

Author: Kathy GreenPublished 4th Oct 2023

Campaigners in North Yorkshire say scrapping the northern leg of HS2 would be another "bitter blow" for rail passengers.

Rishi Sunak insists he won't be rushed into a decision on the high speed project.

"It was always destined to fail"

Gareth Dennis is a railway engineer and writer - based in York: "Whether the next Labour Government or whoever the next Government might be, actually decides to build this thing, it's going to take much longer than it should have, it's going to cost a lot more because of the delays and indecision, it's not going to be delivered before the end of my career, that's so painful."

"The fundamental is that HS2 didn't exist within a broad transport strategy as a result of that it was always destined to fail, England now is on its own within the UK everywhere else has a long term transport strategy, England does not and this is the consequence."

"HS2 allowed us to be much more flexible long term, freeing up space for us to open more branch lines, to run more local services and open more local stations all these things that we can't do because of the fact that we need HS2."

"We need to be reducing our emissions not by 2050 but as soon as possible because every year we delay we add extra emissions this was a key part of reducing our transport emissions, electric cars do not solve all our of problems they reduce exhaust pipe emissions and little else."

Rishi Sunak is expected to overrule the concerns of Tory grandees, businesses and northern leaders by scrapping HS2 to Manchester.

A package appeared to have been signed off by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Monday amid suggestions the pill could be sweetened by improvements for northern infrastructure.

Downing Street insists that "no final decisions" have been made over axing the northern leg of the high-speed rail plans from Birmingham, with Cabinet sign-off expected before an announcement.

But a spokesman for Mr Hunt set the hares running by declining to deny plans had been approved in the Treasury, carefully saying: "A decision will be announced in due course.

"It's not the Treasury's announcement... it's for the Prime Minister."

No 10 said that some reports on the plans were "incorrect", but did not set out which details were wrong and did not deny that a Cabinet meeting would be arranged.

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