HS2 | New Leeds Station to go ahead despite expected cuts to eastern leg

The creation of a new train station in Leeds is still part of the government’s plans for High Speed 2 (HS2), despite reports that the eastern leg of the railway will be significantly scaled back.As reported by The Independent, it seems the government has now backtracked on the suggestion that it would axe the eastern leg entirely, but will still be making significant cuts.The new station in Leeds will be built and new HS2 rails connecting it to South Yorkshire are still planned. However, the line’s capacity will be slashed by the new suggestion of using of old rails between South Yorkshire and the Midlands.Industry experts have repeatedly highlighted the eastern leg as “the most crucial part” of the project as it offers the most towards the government’s “levelling up” agenda.Last month, industry leaders, including members of the High Speed Rail Group and the Railway Industry Association, wrote an open letter to the prime minister warning that axing the eastern leg would be “devastating impact on confidence in the sector”. The letter indicated that many people have already started investing in the region based on the promise of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), which will connect northern cities like Manchester and Leeds.The Treasury was also on the receiving end of a backlash from Tory MPs in the “red wall” region who have made promises to their constituents based on the delivery of these projects, after recent suggestions that the eastern leg of HS2 might be scrapped and NPR significantly scaled back.The saviour of the Leeds station is likely due to this backlash and because it is intertwined with the development of NPR.In August, NPR director Tim Wood told NCE that “NPR assumes that HS2 will be delivered in full including, of course, the eastern leg.”The new Leeds station is likely to be a terminus rather than a through station, despite the National Infrastructure Commission highlighting the added value a through station would bring in connecting the region.While the Leeds to south Yorkshire part of HS2 is still intact, it is now believed that the government will seek to use existing tracks between south Yorkshire and the Midlands. This means the HS2 trains heading south will have to run at a reduced speed for at least 60 miles from the point at which they pass the village of Clayton up until arriving at the East Midlands Parkway Station.This will have significant impact on the journey times from Yorkshire to London and existing bottlenecks will not be resolved, meaning the extra capacity that was touted will be significantly diminished.Another of the expected cuts is the loss of a station in Nottinghamshire, a purpose-built hub in the village of Toton that would have connected Derby and Nottingham to HS2.The government is expected to lay out its visions for projects like HS2 and NPR in its long-delayed Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), which was expected to arrive this week alongside the autumn Budget and Spending Review. However, reports from the Birmingham Mail suggest that we will now not see the IRP until mid-November, meaning the fate of these projects will not become officially clear for a few weeks at least.