The government needs to “urgently” explore how it intends to bring HS2 trains to Leeds, a cross-party group of MPs have said.
The Transport Select Committee said ministers need to “demonstrate” their “commitment” to bringing high-speed rail services to the city. HS2’s eastern leg, which was supposed to be a new high-speed rail line linking Leeds to Birmingham, was abandoned by the government at the end of last year.
To compensate, the government had promised a £100m study on how to bring HS2 trains to Leeds, potentially on existing tracks, but that’s still yet to begin. The delay has frustrated regional leaders still reeling from the cancellation of the eastern leg, with West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin recently complaining Leeds has been “left in limbo”.
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That view’s been backed by the committee, in their report on the government’s planned investment on railway infrastructure across the North and Midlands.
MPs said: “The government must conduct its study on how best to take HS2 to Leeds urgently. We ask that a timetable for this work, including a firm date for the final report, be published by September 2022. This is essential for demonstrating that the commitment made to Leeds for high speed connections will be fulfilled.”
Last year the government outlined a £96bn integrated rail plan (IRP) for improving train services across the North and Midlands, though that sum does include the cost of building HS2.
But the committee said that Leeds Station needs to be revamped to cope with the extra passengers the investment will bring, with the station already accommodating more passengers than it can technically cope with.
The report said: “Already over capacity in its current configuration, Leeds station will not be able to handle the increased services and passengers generated by the IRP, and this will continue to have knock-on effects elsewhere in the network.
“We ask the government to commit to supporting redevelopment of Leeds station by 2035 so that it has sufficient capacity to accommodate services planned under the IRP, including HS2 trains arriving in Leeds.”
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