UK Ministers have come under fire for cancelling a £3bn section of HS2 that would have allowed Scotland to benefit from the controversial high-speed rail line.
The SNP has described Boris Johnson’s decision to scrap the link to Scotland as “sleekit” and “cowardly”.
The culling of the 13-mile “Golborne Link” near Manchester will be a blow to Scottish travellers as it was designed to connect the new HS2 with the existing west coast main line that runs from Manchester north to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Engineers have previously warned against cancelling the Golborne link, saying it “hobbles the value” of the HS2.
Rail industry bodies have reacted with fury after the UK Government scrapped the vital connection between HS2 and the West Coast Main Line to Scotland.
The decision to axe the 13-mile Golborne Link in Greater Manchester will lead to a “bottleneck”, according to a joint statement from the Railway Industry Association, Rail Freight Group and High Speed Rail Group.
The link will be removed from the HS2 Phase 2b Bill despite it being included in the Integrated Rail Plan for transforming the rail network in the North and the Midlands.
It would have left the high-speed line between Crewe and Manchester and cut through Trafford to join the West Coast Main Line to the south of Wigan.
HS2 minister Andrew Stephenson said the UK Government will explore alternatives for how HS2 trains will reach Scotland. He insisted that HS2 plans to run services to Scotland will be “unaffected”.
He said: “Removing this link is about ensuring that we’ve left no stone unturned when it comes to working with our Scottish counterparts to find a solution that will best serve the great people of Scotland.”
In a statement to Westminster he added: “We will look at the potential for these alternatives to bring benefits to passengers sooner, allowing improved Scotland services from Manchester and Manchester Airport, as well as from Birmingham and London. HS2 trains will continue to serve Wigan and Preston, as well as Lancaster, Cumbria and Scotland.”.
The decision is the latest by the Department for Transport to scale back HS2 in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
Commenting, the SNP's shadow transport secretary Gavin Newlands said: "This sleekit move sums up Boris Johnson’s tenure as Prime Minister – cowardly and shameful.
“His decision to announce this crucial cut on the same day as his Vote of No Confidence – knowing full well it would fall off the radar – is despicable.
"The original investment would have drastically improved Scotland’s rail links with the north west of England, but yet again this Westminster government is tearing it apart.
“Whether it’s promising to improve rail links in Scotland, building a multi-billion-pound bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland, or investing £1 billion in carbon capture in the north east - nothing that comes out of Boris Johnson’s mouth can be trusted.
“Time and time again, the SNP Scottish Government has been forced to work with one hand tied behinds its back, while the UK Tory government impose cuts and scrap pledges. This has to end.
“That is why the only way to achieve a fairer and more equal country is for Scotland to become an independent country.”
In their joint statement, the three railway industry bodies said: “It is hugely disappointing to discover that, on a day when much political attention was focused elsewhere, the Government confirmed that the Golborne Link is to be removed from the HS2 project.
“Only six months ago, the Golborne Link was included in the Integrated Rail Plan, as well as the HS2 Phase 2b Bill.
“The link has been provided for in the budget for HS2 and is needed to allow adequate capacity on the national rail network to fulfil its vital function of handling the nation’s longer distance movements of both passengers and freight.
“Without this connection, a bottleneck will be created north of Crewe on the West Coast Main Line, which in turn will negatively impact outcomes for passengers, decarbonisation and levelling up.”
The trio warned of “heightened uncertainty” for rail businesses working on HS2 and communities living near the planned line.
They went on: “Given the Government has now decided that it does not wish to proceed with the Golborne Link, it is absolutely essential it confirms as quickly as possible how ministers intend to protect the benefits of HS2 investment, and does so without delay.
“Such an important, strategic question of how HS2 services connect into Scotland cannot be left open or uncertain.”
The announcement comes six months after the Government dropped its plan to extend HS2 to Leeds.
Ministers announced last November that the 120-mile eastern spur linking Birmingham and Leeds - the right-hand-leg of HS2’s Y-shape.
Construction on the Golborne Link was due to start in the early 2030s, with the connection expected to open towards the end of that decade or in the early 2040s.
It was designed to split from the main line at Hoo Green in Cheshire before it reached Manchester Airport.
It would have then headed through Warrington to connect to the west coast main line, which boasts tilting pendolino trains, just south of Wigan. HS2 trains would then continue on the existing west coast line up to Scotland.
Plans for the Golborne Link faced fierce criticism from MPs, councillors and local residents.
The Government-commissioned Union Connectivity Review, published in November 2021, said “emerging evidence” suggested an alternative connection between HS2 and the West Coast Main Line “could offer more benefits” and “reduce journey times by two to three minutes”.
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