North of England the big loser in cancellation of HS2 plans
Maybe one day, maybe never. HS2 reaches a watershed with the UK government about to announce further revisions HS2
The worst kept secret in Britain is finally out. The high speed rail network, planned for the north east of England is officially scrapped. The transport secretary Grant Shapps made the announcement to the House of Commons this morning. The eastern leg, connecting Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds, and on to the East Coast Main Line, will not be built. HS2, as the project is commonly known, will run from London to Birmingham, with extensions to Manchester and a connection to the West Coast Main Line at Crewe or Wigan.
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Liverpool – Leeds through Manchester links three large cities of Northern England, just 73 miles (117 km) apart by road, with only hourly train services that take 1:45 hours, for an average speed of only 41 mph (66 km/h) with diesel power, even with relatively few (five) stops for this speed. To achieve twice that speed should not be too ambitious.
For comparison, Birmingham-Leeds (114 miles, hourly in 2:19, 49 mph) is a little faster now and the cancelled connection here seems less important.