Anger in northern England and Midlands, with high-speed Leeds-Manchester line also not going ahead
The eastern leg of HS2 to Leeds has been scrapped and a full high-speed east-west line linking Manchester to Leeds will not be built, the government has confirmed, as it insisted faster train journeys would be delivered earlier and cheaper under a £96bn rail plan.
The high-speed rail network will go ahead to Manchester but be curtailed at an existing east Midlands station rather than run from Birmingham to Leeds, while the TransPennine route will be improved mainly through upgrades rather than a brand new line.
