The arrival of HS2 in the North has been delayed again by the Tories.
They said the Birmingham to Crewe section has been pushed back by two years due to inflation.
And completion of the final Crewe to Manchester phase may also be delayed.
Labour said: “The North is yet again being asked to pay the price for staggering Conservative failure.”
The Birmingham to Crewe stretch had been due to be ready at some point between 2030 and 2034.
But the Transport Secretary Mark Harper has announced a two-year delay to the section.
And he set no date for when the line would be built to Manchester.
Former Tory Transport Secretary Lord Patrick McLoughlin criticised the “disappointing announcement”.
Lord McLoughlin, who now chairs Transport for the North, said: “The Government needs to avoid being penny wise and pound foolish, as delays don’t necessarily lead to savings, and in fact can drive costs upwards.”
Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “Tens of thousands of jobs and billions in economic growth are dependent on this project.
“The North is yet again being asked to pay the price for staggering Conservative failure. Conservative chaos and chronic indecision are holding back jobs, growth and costing the taxpayer.”
Mr Harper blamed soaring inflation for the latest setback.
He said: “We have seen significant inflationary pressure and increased project costs, and so we will rephase construction by two years.”
Mr Harper added the aim was to get the high-speed services to Crewe and the North West up and running “as soon as possible after accounting for the delay in construction”.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle was angered by the Tories making the announcement with a written statement rather than facing MPs for questioning.
The 225mph railway - which some estimates suggest will cost £106billion - was originally planned to run from London Euston to Manchester and Leeds via Birmingham.
The Tories had already ditched pledges for HS2 to run to Yorkshire.
HS2 Phase 2a Northern Powerhouse Partnership chief executive Henri Murison said: “Delaying projects doesn’t make them cheaper, it only holds back economic benefits and increases the overall scheme costs further in the long run.
“We’re paying a huge price for the endless dithering during Boris Johnson’s premiership, and the wider damage done by cancelling the leg to Leeds, with still no plan for how to get services to Yorkshire and beyond.”
John Foster, the Confederation of British Industry’s policy unit programme director, said: “Delays to projects may create short-term savings, but they can ultimately lead to higher overall costs and slow down the UK’s transition to a better, faster and greener transport network”.
Rail unions also blasted the decision.
A Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association spokesman said - “Ditching or delaying parts of HS2 just goes to show the poverty of ambition we see all too often when it comes to this Government and our railways.
“HS2 is the key to our economy for decades to come and delays demonstrate just how hollow ministerial promises of levelling-up really were.
“The fact is HS2 built in full would turbo charge local and regional economies, build superb new infrastructure and provide many jobs.
“This is a wholly short-sighted decision by a government unable to grip the future because it has been unable to grip inflation.”
Senior Labour backbencher John Spellar told the Mirror: “They may be pushing expenditure off to a later year but there’s no way it saves money in the long-run.
“If you’ve got companies geared up for a job then they will have to start paying people off and companies producing materials will have to slow down.
“In the end, this all adds to costs. It’s crazy.”
Phase One from London to the West Midlands is due to open between 2029 and 2033.
The original leg to Leeds was scrapped in November 2021 as part of the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan - although it is officially still under review.
On the route to East Midlands Parkway, the Transport Secretary’s statement simply said: “Work continues on progressing commitments made in the Integrated Rail Plan to develop HS2 East, the proposed route for HS2 services between the West and East Midlands, and to consider the most effective way to take HS2 trains to Leeds."
Work on Phase One of the route began in 2017,[1] and passenger services are planned to begin in 2026. Phase 2a to Crewe on the initial part of the western leg of the “Y” is due to start services in 2027,
West Midlands mayor Andy Street, a Conservative has said the latest rephasing of HS2 is a “great disappointment”.
