Leaders urge PM: 'Don't leave us standing at the platform on HS2 future'

JUST SIX MONTHS AGO THE GOVERNMENT VOWED RAIL PROJECT WOULD ARRIVE IN MANCHESTER. NOW WE'RE ON THE VERGE OF MORE BROKEN PROMISES

- PAUL BRITTON

JUST six months ago, the government vowed HS2 conceived in 2009 - would roll into Manchester, saying it would 'form the foundations for improved rail services in the north through the Northern Powerhouse! Now those foundations appear to be shaking, if not crumbling.

Political and transport leaders here were reassured by the contents of the written ministerial statement. They said they felt the commitment would protect, albeit possibly delay, the route to Manchester, the end of the line for the proposed high-speed, north-south link.

But yesterday the end of the line seems far nearer as Rishi Sunak's government reportedly prepares to announce whether or not the line will run any further than Birmingham amid spiralling costs said to be £100bn. It's a kick in the teeth for all those in Greater Manchester who have poured years of hard work into plans and policies, not to mention huge sums of money.

Northern Powerhouse Rail, crucial and much-needed east-west rail links between Manchester and outlying towns and cities, is intertwined with HS2's creation, as lines are shared.

As northern mayors prepare to meet in Leeds today to issue a last-gasp plea to the Prime Minister not to axe HS2 to Manchester and as the Conservative Party conference comes to the city centre this weekend business leaders in Greater Manchester say they fear the worst.

"Once again the north has been promised the Earth, but all it seems we'll get is scorched earth," said one.

"For the government to even be thinking about scrapping the northern leg is just madness and I find it difficult to comprehend the logic behind it."

Another added ominously: "If the north of England is largely left out of the HS2 loop, the north-south divide is almost certainly going to grow wider."