Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed that the plans for HS2 in Leeds have been abandoned, with existing rail services instead being given an upgrade.
The new proposals replace the planned 40-mile high speed line between Manchester and Leeds.
Instead, there’ll be a stretch of new railway – partly HS2, partly Northern Powerhouse Rail – between Warrington and Marsden, which will join with the existing Transpennine route.
Despite an offering of £96 billion, the rail improvement programme is expected to transform public transport rather than bring high speed rail infrastructure (HS2) to Leeds, The Hoot has reported.
The proposed HS2 plans for Leeds have been scrapped. Credit: HS2
The plans were announced this morning online, but were confirmed by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps later in the day.
ADVERTISEMENT
HS2 would have originally connected Leeds with London, as well as Birmingham and Manchester, but it is the eastern leg of the HS2 plans that are now set to be scrapped in favour of improving existing services.
Outlining the new plans, the Prime Minister announced that the Northern Powerhouse Rail, the new rail improvement programme, will cut the journey from Leeds to Manchester to just 33 minutes and double train capacities.
ADVERTISEMENT
The north will only get a fraction of the £96billion 'rail revolution'.
👉Phase 1 of HS2 accounts for half of that but only goes as far as Birmingham.
👉Half the HS2 budget on the eastern leg has disappeared altogether.
— The Northern Powerhouse Partnership (@NP_Partnership) November 18, 2021
Boris Johnson also announced that HS2 will be a fixture in Sheffield, but not necessarily in Leeds.
The journey from Sheffield to London is expected to take 1 hour 27 minutes under the new plans and the government will “look at how to get HS2 to Leeds too, with a new study on the best way to make it happen”.
Under the new proposed rail scheme, the journey from Leeds to Bradford will be cut to 12 minutes and improvements will be made to Wakefield and Doncaster lines on an upgraded East Coast Main Line.
The Trans-Pennine Main Line will also be expanded, along with the Midland Main Line, by the early 2030s.
Ending the Prime Minister’s speech was a promise for London-style Oyster cards and a statement to put tram network rumours to rest: “By later this decade, Leeds will no longer be the largest city in Europe without a metro because we today commit to build West Yorkshire Mass Transit, and to the funding needed to see it through.
“And even sooner than that, we’ll install London-style contactless ticketing on Yorkshire’s commuter network.”
Feature Image– Wikimedia Commons
News
Manchester United fans planning another major protest amid more upheaval around the club
Danny Jones
Manchester United supporters look set to stage another high-profile demonstration in protest against the INEOS Sports ownership group.
This is the latest response to the club’s continuing struggles, and not just the first proper organised mobilisation of the year, but the first since the most recent major march last spring.
Following the sacking of ‘manager’ Ruben Amorim, despite co-owner Jim Ratcliffe and his board of executives insisting that the Portuguese head coach (that distinction proving to be a crucial detail), the local sporting giants are once again starting from scratch and looking for another replacement boss.
With that in mind, militant fan group The 1958 announced their most recent protest ahead of a home fixture next month in a rather bold fashion…
As announced we protest against this dysfunctional co-ownership before Fulham.
Yep, neither Amorim, Erik ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, nor any face even remotely associated with Old Trafford/Carrington is safe from an AI parody.
As for The 1958 group’s actual protest plans, speaking via the BBC this week, the supporters’ trust has confirmed that they will be making a vocal statement outside the stadium on Sunday, 1 February.
Travelling Reds already made their thoughts known with a very blunt, provocative and somewhat controversial banner in the away end at Turf Moor for the 2-2 draw against Burnley.
With Man United approaching a third-round FA Cup tie against Brighton and two big games in the form of a Manchester Derby at home and a trip to Arsenal, they have decided to choose the Fulham game at Old Trafford to stage the march.
Despite admitting that the results under Amorim were no way near good enough, they insist that the – most notably the overarching and Glazer family shadow ever looming over the organisation.
Further details around the actual timings and locations are still yet to be shared by the organisers, but you can expect this to be a well-attended, large-scale event.
Often convening at The Tollgate pub near regular matchday tram stop, Trafford Bar, before walking down Talbot Road towards the ground itself, we imagine Reds will then descend upon the Theatre of Dreams in their thousands.
In case you didn’t already surmise from the video itself, Ratcliffe and co. will be no doubt the subject of the usual chants, as well as more banners and flags.
What do you make of the latest plans, Man United fans?
Nothing will ever be quite as bold as the infamous Old Trafford break-in from 2022 (Credit: The Manc)
More Greater Manchester football matches called off as Storm Goretti sets in
Danny Jones
Yet more scheduled football matches in Greater Manchester and the surrounding regions have been postponed and/or cancelled due to Storm Goretti.
The increasingly cold, blustery and icy conditions moving over from France and across more parts of the UK have already caused schools to close, flights to be grounded, and plenty more disruption.
Another such inconvenience has come in the form of live sports, large swathes of which now look like they simply won’t be taking place.
One of the latest to be called off is Salford City‘s upcoming game against Swindon Town in the FA Cup this weekend, with various other games involving teams up and down the footballing pyramid now facing uncertainty over whether their third-round fixtures will go ahead as planned.
Ironically, this is just the tip of the iceberg, if you’ll pardon the very obvious pun.
Another game that was called off late last week, between Chadderton and FC Isle of Man, is yet to be rescheduled; the same is true of Rochdale AFC’s meeting with Brackley Town, Radcliffe v Oxford City, as well as games involving Bury, Stockport Town, Irlam, Cheadle Town, Prestwich Heys and more.
Other nearby outfits, such as Chorley, Warrington Rylands and Ramsbottom United, just to name a few, are also still unsure of when their next game will be.
In many cases, it is simply a matter of the grounds being largely or completely frozen and deemed unfit for use following pitch inspections.
Oldham Athletic – which has already been hit with plenty of snow and frost – yesterday confirmed that their Notts County clash wouldn’t be going ahead due to that very reason.
With winds of up to 90 miles per hour also being reported, yellow and even red weather warnings have been issued across various parts of the country, with people being urged to check their routes home from work by local authorities.
Storm Goretti should start calming down this evening (Fri, 9 January) and into Saturday morning, but the after-effects could still play havoc over the next few days.
For instance, over in Cheshire, Macclesfield FC are going so far as to call on nearby residents to help clear their playing surface from heavy snowfall.
So, if you’re in the area and fancy helping out, they could sure do with your help.
VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED
Macclesfield FC are once again requesting the help of the fanbase and the local community to help clear the remainder of the compacted snow from the surrounding areas of the https://t.co/fL99QEEJ4D Stadium.
Daisy Jackson -
18th November 2021 
