Leeds, Bradford and other key British cities could miss out on rail revolution

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “The government should reconsider the case for the development of a new station in Bradford.” Leeds The West Yorkshire city was intended to be connected with Birmingham and London on the eastern leg of the new high-speed line, HS2. “The high-speed segregation provided by the original HS2 eastern leg would have allowed towns like Belper in Derbyshire or Outwood in West Yorkshire – currently very poorly served compared to smaller destinations on lines into London – to benefit from released capacity on their local lines for more services to Derby and Leeds respectively. Upgrading lines will undoubtedly bring modest benefits to rail services in the North and Midlands, but not to the transformative extent necessary to end regional imbalances.” Scotland One long-promised benefit of the new high-speed line was to reduce dramatically times between London, Birmingham and Scotland, in particular Glasgow on the West Coast main line. “Such an important, strategic question of how HS2 services connect into Scotland cannot be left open or uncertain.” Government response A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The Government’s £96bn Integrated Rail Plan is the largest single rail investment ever made by a UK Government, and this report significantly underplays the benefits it will bring to millions of passengers for generations to come.