(Bloomberg) —
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson scrapped a key element of the HS2 high-speed rail project after costs ballooned to more than 100 billion pounds ($135 billion).
The move, which will reduce connectivity to the city of Leeds, drew criticism that his Conservative government is abandoning pledges to invest in northern England.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is set to publish an Integrated Rail Plan for the Midlands and North later Thursday. The blueprint will modify proposals to speed up journeys to London, replacing them with a 96 billion-pound package the government says will deliver faster, reliable regional travel earlier.
Johnson had faced a backlash over spending on the line, which critics said would be better devoted to new hospitals and other infrastructure, while wrestling with the need to boost links to the capital from seats that switched from the opposition Labour Party to the Conservatives at the last general election. Trains on HS2 will run at up to 225 miles per hour, slashing journey times and boosting hourly services on Europe’s busiest rail corridor.
“High-speed rail is grindingly slow to build,” Johnson wrote in The Yorkshire Post newspaper on Thursday. “Under the original blueprint, first drawn up more than a decade ago, Yorkshire would not have seen the benefits of our investment until at least the 2040s.”
Read More: Johnson Faces Backlash From Northern England Over Rail Plans
The announcement from Shapps is expected to include the termination of the eastern leg of the HS2 line at a East Midlands hub near Nottingham. High-speed trains will continue to Sheffield in Yorkshire but on a slower track.
In another development, an east-west route including the link from Leeds to Manchester will get a new high-speed line only part of the way, with upgrades to older track required to complete the trip, according to the Politico website.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who represents Labour, accused the government of abandoning its leveling-up agenda. “No expense spared for the South. No money left for the North,” he tweeted.
Travel from London to Sheffield will still be cut to 1 hour 27 minutes, the same as under the old plan, Johnson said. “We’ll look at how to get HS2 to Leeds too, with a new study on the best way to make it happen,” he said.
Phase 1 of HS2, between London Euston station and Birmingham in the West Midlands, is already undergoing construction and would be unaffected by the changes. Phase 2a, taking the line onward to the junction station of Crewe, and the western leg of Phase 2b, terminating in the northern metropolis of Manchester, would also go ahead.
The Department for Transport said in a statement the revised plans have to present “value for the taxpayer.”
“People can quibble about individual lines but 96 billion pounds is a step change,” Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told Sky News Thursday.
(Updates with Johnson comment in fifth paragraph)
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