Government U-turn on HS2 alternatives less than 24 hours after announcement

Line in North East and Bristol transport ‘revolution’ dropped from plans as doubts emerge over Euston extension

The government has U-turned on its pledge to reopen a railway line – less than a day after it was announced as an alternative to the northern leg of HS2.

And promises to “revolutionise” public transport in Bristol were watered down within hours of the prime minister’s Tory conference speech in which he hailed a new “Network North” programme.

It comes as doubts have also emerged over the HS2 line extension to Euston with the project dependent on private investment.

Rishi Sunak had announced that the £36bn allocated for the HS2 line between Manchester and Birmingham would instead be invested in hundreds of new transport projects to drive better connectivity across the North and Midlands, with faster journey times on roads, rail and buses.

Mr Sunak unveiled plans to reopen the Leamside line in the North East as one of those projects.

The 21-mile line from Pelaw in Gateshead to Tursdale in County Durham, which closed in 1964, had been described as the “most important piece of infrastructure for the economic future of the North East” by Transport North East.

But just a day after Mr Sunak committed to the line on Wednesday, all reference to its reopening was removed from the Network North website. Transport minister Richard Holden said the government had committed only to “looking into” the scheme.

Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “If this is what they have done and they have gone back on their word, how can we believe anything else that they have said in the last week? How can the prime minister have any credibility on the commitments he has made?

“If they don’t honour their commitments made on this, it would be significant evidence of a betrayal of the north of England.”

Kim McGuinness, the police and crime commissioner for Northumbria, said: “The prime minister’s promise to the North East didn’t even last 24 hours – only a fool would trust Rishi Sunak again.”

The Network North rail project also included a fully electrified line with a new station at Bradford and a tram system in Leeds.

The idea is to link Manchester to Bradford in journey times of 30 minutes, to Sheffield in 42 minutes and to Hull – on a newly electrified line – in 82 minutes.

On Wednesday, a bullet point list of North East projects included in Network North stated: “The Leamside line, closed in 1964, will also be reopened.”

That web page was later taken down and there was no mention of Leamside in a 40-page Network North policy document, only a pledge to take train services to Ferryhill.

At the same time, a government web page on transport plans in various regions was altered over the 24 hours after the prime minister’s speech. Beforehand, it had referred to £100m in funding “for a Mass Transit system to revolutionise travel in and around Bristol”.

By Thursday afternoon, that line referred to £100m in funding “for the West of England Combined Authority”.

Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh condemned the change as “an absolute farce”.

Meanwhile, doubts have emerged over whether the HS2 line will extend to Euston in central London, where a new terminus – already delayed – had been due to be built.

The extension will be created only if enough private investment is secured, it’s been revealed.

If the money isn’t found, HS2 will permanently stop at Old Oak Common in the capital’s western suburbs. Extending HS2 to Euston involves digging a 4.5-mile tunnel from Old Oak Common.

At his speech to the Conservative Party conference on Wednesday, the prime minister said: “We will complete the line from Birmingham to Euston.”

Mr Holden, Conservative MP for North West Durham, said: “We are committed to looking into it [Leamside]. We want to work with local partners to consider the different uses for the route and what their priorities would be for transport in the area.”

Mr Holden suggested that the Leamside line decision could be made by local leaders, potentially using a £1.8bn settlement that the North East will receive from the next stage of the government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.