Leeds, Bradford and other key British cities could miss out on rail revolution

The government is in danger of letting down the people of the north of England with its proposed cuts to rail investment, the Transport Select Committee has said.

In a wide-ranging report, The Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands, MPs on the all-party committee accuse ministers of underserving passengers and promising unachievable journey times.

The Independent has analysed the key areas of contention.

Bradford

This large West Yorkshire conurbation “has been rated one of the worst connected cities in the UK”. The report says the rail journey from Leeds takes two minutes longer than it did in 1910.

Initially a new station on a new high-speed line between Manchester and Leeds was promised. But both the line and the station have been cancelled. The existing line across the Pennines will be upgraded, but bypasses Bradford. The government says improvements to existing lines will allow a Leeds-Bradford journey time of just 12 minutes rather than a typical time of 20 minutes. But experts poured scorn on the claims.

The MPs say: “We received detailed evidence that cast doubt on the plausibility of the journey time reductions that are achievable under the plans to upgrade existing lines rather than build new ones; we ask the government to publish its full technical appraisals of the feasibility of these reductions.

“The potential of Bradford as an engine room of the Northern Powerhouse may be squandered if it is not given opportunities to thrive through better connectivity.

“Direct high speed connections would give the city access to a much broader pool of labour, as well as allowing other cities to benefit from the talent and potential of its own residents.

“Leaving such a large and dynamic city behind would undermine the project of levelling up the country.

“The government should reconsider the case for the development of a new station in Bradford.”

Leeds

The West Yorkshire city was intended to be connected with Birmingham and London on the eastern leg of the new high-speed line, HS2. But the planned HS2 East has been scrapped in favour of some improvements to the existing East Coast main line from London and a curious routing for high-speed trains from London to Manchester, where the service would reverse to travel across the Pennines.

The planned HS2 hub – effectively expanding the current Leeds station – has also been axed.

The MPs say expansion is desperately needed: “Capacity in Leeds station is limited and delays are frequent. Leeds…