UK govt faces anger after rail plans retreat

(File photo) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Under-fire British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was yesterday accused of “betrayal” as his government scaled back rail plans in northern England, despite announcing an unprecedented £96bn investment for the region. Johnson is already reeling from a raft of misconduct allegations against his MPs, and risks further damaging headlines by backtracking on a key pledge made during his successful 2019 election campaign for a new rail line between the northern hubs of Manchester and Leeds. The prime minister had promised a “new Trans-Pennine rail route between Manchester and Leeds” as part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) project to improve links between major northern cities. But Transport Minister Grant Shapps announced yesterday that much of the existing line would be upgraded rather than being replaced as part of the £96bn ($129bn) package. He also announced that plans to extend the new high-speed HS2 line from the East Midlands of England to Leeds would be shelved. The money will instead be used to upgrade tracks and services between London and the Midlands, between the Midlands and Manchester and in Yorkshire. Matthew Fell, chief policy director at business lobby group the CBI, said the plans represented a “significant investment that will go some way towards modernising our ageing rail networks and can be delivered at pace.” “But businesses across the Midlands and northern England will be justifiably disappointed to see the goalposts have moved at the 11th hour,” he added. Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, called it a “huge disappointment to the thousands of businesses that were relying on HS2 and NPR to fire up economic regeneration”.