Andrew Jones MP asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson today if the government would consider starting construction of the Birmingham to Leeds section of HS2 in Yorkshire.
Mr Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said starting work on the high speed rail link in the north would be “good for jobs, connectivity to the Midlands and help drive up the levelling up agenda”.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions today, Mr Jones began by hailing the 60th anniversary of TV soap Coronation Street, calling it “an amazing landmark, so congratulations to it”.
He then added that infrastructure promises for the north had gone on for “just as long”.
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Mr Johnson praised Mr Jones, a former rail minister, as a “big expert in this field and a great campaigner for transport”.
However, he stopped short of agreeing to his request. He said:
“I’ve asked the National Infrastructure Commission and Network Rail to look at how the eastern leg of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail can boost the economy for the north.”
Construction work for phase 1 of the high speed rail link, from London to Birmingham, began in September.
Work on the 198 kilometre second leg from Birmingham to Leeds has yet to begin. It is estimated to be completed between 2035 and 2040.
Plans for the Birmingham to Leeds section have been paused while the government draws up an integrated rail plan for the north and Midlands. The plan was expected before the end of 2020.
This pause raised questions about the future of the route, with former Labour transport minister Andrew Adonis tweeting in October that the eastern leg will “probably not now go ahead”.
