Will spending £36bn on regional transport improve your daily commute? Don’t bank on it…

Cancelling the northern leg of HS2 won’t just disappoint passengers in Manchester, writes railway expert Philip Haigh – it could also make it harder for all of us to get around

HS2 would have taken the strain off exisiting train services and removed freight traffic from motorways – making it easier to drive to the office (Carey Tompsett/PA) (PA Archive)

It’s a bittersweet moment for England’s railway passengers.

As the prime minister swings his axe into HS2, lopping the line to Manchester and the stump to the East Midlands, he’s gambling that the series of smaller, tactical transport improvements he announced – matching “every single penny” of the high-speed extension’s £36bn cost – can make up for his strategic retreat. Can they?

For starters, many more people use buses than trains, so Rishi Sunak’s pledge to extend the current £2 fare cap until the end of 2024 will help… if you can find a bus near you.