UK to build new rail line between Birmingham and Manchester two years after HS2 scrapped
Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce plans to build a new rail line between Birmingham and Manchester. Independent He figures it out just two years after the HS2 expansion was cancelled.
Rishi Sunak canceled the launch of a high-speed network between the two cities in October 2023 to save money.
But ministers are now expected to set out plans as they approve proposals for new and improved rail links in the north of England as part of a plan known as the Northern Powerhouse Railway (NPR).
The move comes as Labor tries to fend off the threat of Nigel Farage’s Reform and Sir Keir risks losing dozens of parliamentary seats in the north of England at the next general election.
Mr Farage’s deputy, Richard Tice, said the Reform government would scrap high-speed rail plans for the North.
With Labor trailing Reform in the polls, the party hopes that finding solutions to issues such as public services and infrastructure could help sway disaffected voters in constituencies across the region.
Sir Keir has promised people across Britain will feel “positive change” this year, amid growing questions about his premiership and speculation he will face a leadership challenge if Labor does poorly in May’s local elections.
Before becoming prime minister, Sir Keir said he could not promise to reverse the Labor government’s decision to scrap HS2, despite calls for commitment from Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.
His comments came after Mr Sunak was criticized by two former prime ministers, David Cameron and Boris Johnson, for canceling the rail link from the north to Manchester.
And the National Audit Office has warned that scrapping HS2 would cost £100 million and take up to three years.
At the time, Mr Sunak said he was forced to act when costs had “doubled” but insisted the money saved would instead be spent on improving rail and road links in England and Wales.
NPR was first proposed by the then Conservative Chancellor George Osborne in 2014.
He said that at this stage he wants to create high-speed rail links between major cities in the North.
The plans suffered from the chaos that affected Tory governments later that decade and into the 2020s.
