PM redirects HS2 funding to revolutionise transport across the North and Midlands

• Spiralling HS2 costs redirected to build Network North and fund raft of transport projects across the country, delivering the strong, reliable connections people depend on every day.   
• Rail, roads and buses to benefit from £36 billion in transport improvements in fundamental shift to how Government invests in transport infrastructure – unlocking potential faster in our towns, cities and rural areas. 
• A further £12bn is set aside to deliver fast links between Liverpool and Manchester.
• Prime Minister prioritises the forms of transport that matter most to people and will deliver for future generations – driving jobs, growing the economy and levelling up the country. 

A revolution in the country’s transport infrastructure will see billions of pounds redirected from spiralling HS2 costs to build the daily connections that people depend on – unlocking potential, driving growth and transforming communities. 

The Prime Minister has today [Wednesday 4 October] unveiled his vision to deliver the forms of transport that people use the most. The new plans will radically improve travel between and within our cities and towns, and around our local areas – benefitting more people in more places, more quickly.  

The cornerstone of this plan will be Network North which will drive better connectivity across the North and Midlands with faster journey times, increased capacity and more frequent, reliable services across rail, buses and roads. £36 billion will be invested in hundreds of transport projects across the country – with every region set to receive the same or more transport investment on an unprecedented scale as a result of the change.  

A further £12 billion on top of this figure will be set aside for faster connectivity between Liverpool and Manchester.  

This represents a fundamental shift in investment towards the people’s transport priorities, consistent with the Prime Minister’s pledge to grow the economy while ensuring value for money and demonstrating responsibility with taxpayers’ money.   

More than four million people in cities in the North cannot currently reach their city centre by public transport within half an hour, which is detrimental to productivity and economic growth. And rail accounts for just 8 per cent of distances travelled and 2 per cent of all journeys.  

Yet the HS2 project currently accounts for over one-third of all Government’s transport investments, preventing the Government from spending on people’s genuine priorities and doing little to improve the journeys that people make the most.   

Therefore, the Government will deliver HS2 between Euston in central London and the West Midlands, with a station at Old Oak Common and Birmingham Interchange and branches to central Birmingham and Handsacre, near Lichfield – where HS2 trains for Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland will join the West Coast Main Line. 

HS2 trains will run from Euston to central Birmingham in 49 minutes, 30 minutes faster than now; from Euston to Manchester in 1 hr 40 minutes, 27 minutes faster than now; from Euston to Liverpool in 1 hr 45 minutes, 26 minutes faster than now; and also to Lancashire, Cumbria and Scotland, saving significantly on current journey times.  

Rather than delivering the HS2 Phase 2 new line between Birmingham and Manchester, and HS2 East, the Prime Minister is taking action to deliver greater frequency and quality of transport infrastructure across the whole country.   

Communities in towns, cities and rural areas will see improved transport infrastructure far sooner through £19.8 billion reinvested in the North, including:  

• £2 billion for a new station at Bradford and a new connection to Manchester.  
• £2.5 billion to deliver a new mass transit system in West Yorkshire.  
• £3 billion for upgraded and electrified lines between Manchester and Sheffield, Sheffield and Leeds, Sheffield and Hull, and Hull-Leeds.
• Nearly £4 billion more funding for local transport in the North’s six city regions. 
• A new £2.5 billion fund for local transport across all areas in the North outside the six city regions – encompassing smaller cities, counties, towns and countryside.  
• A new £3.3 billion fund for road resurfacing.  
• Landmark investments in roads, reopened train lines and new stations.

We will also invest a further £12 billion to better connect Manchester to Liverpool. This would allow the delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail as previously planned, including high-speed lines. But we will work with local leaders to agree whether they wish to suggest other ways to achieve the objectives within that cost envelope. 

£9.6 billion reinvested in the Midlands: 

• Funding the Midlands Rail Hub in full with £1.75 billion, connecting 50 stations and over 7 million people – doubling capacity and frequency.
• Over £1.5 billion guaranteed local transport funding for the new East Midlands Mayor.  
• Over £1 billion extra local transport funding for West Midlands City Region. 
• A new £2.2 billion fund for local transport across all areas in the West and East Midlands outside the city regions – smaller cities, counties, towns and countryside. 
• Reopened train lines and new stations such as the Ivanhoe Line. 
• The development of Midlands road schemes to benefit businesses and their employees at Rolls Royce, Toyota, and Magna Park, generating over £12 billion for the local economy.  

£6.5 billion for the rest of the country: 

• Rail improvements in the Southwest.  
• Keeping the £2 bus fare until the end of December 2024.  
• Ensuring the delivery of road schemes.  
• Transforming Ely Junction.
• Greater connectivity for both Scotland and Wales with improvements to the A75 between Gretna and Stranraer, and £1 billion to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line.
• And billions to fix potholes on the country’s roads.

To ensure regions are best equipped to reach their productivity potential, local authorities and Metro Mayors will be empowered to create the public transport networks that their communities want to see. We will also set out a broader package of infrastructure planning reforms in the coming months to remove burdens to building, to ensure these projects are delivered and benefits felt in communities more quickly.  

Originally, every pound spent on HS2 was set to deliver £2.30 worth of benefits back to the taxpayer. Despite revising the scope, benefits could fall as low as 80 pence for every £1 spent. Meanwhile, the original benefits-cost ratio for HS2 was underpinned by assumptions which are no longer valid. Covid-19 has completely changed travel patterns and business rail travel is currently around half of 2019 levels while the majority of public transport journeys continue to be taken by bus – at three billion a year.   

However, we will complete Phase 1 of HS2 where significant construction is already underway, cutting journey times from Birmingham to central London from around 80 minutes to 49 minutes.  This will have a transformative effect on rail capacity, nearly allowing up to 250,000 passengers to travel every day – supporting growth for decades to come. 

To unlock growth potential for London and deliver thousands of additional homes at Euston, the Government will oversee a change in leadership of the project to ensure maximum value for the taxpayer, while attracting private investment to build a world-class station. This will release more than £6 billion to invest in transport projects right across the country, delivering road, rail and bus upgrades in communities that were never set to benefit from HS2.  

So, the Prime Minister has today drawn a line under the spiralling costs of delivering HS2 in full, in recognition of the changed economic context and modern transport demands. Instead, the redirected funding will deliver the vital transport links that people want and need to get to work, take their children to school, access doctors’ appointments and visit friends and family – connecting our great towns and cities while delivering real change to benefit the country and future generations.       

ENDS

Notes to Editors 

Every region will receive the same or more transport investment that addresses their economic needs:  

• We will connect all the major cities of the North with more frequent trains, more capacity and faster journeys – not just Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, but Bradford, Sheffield and Hull.   
• £2 billion for a brand new rail station in Bradford and a new connection giving a 30 minute journey time to Manchester. 
• £2.5 billion for a new West Yorkshire mass transit system, improving connections between Leeds and Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield and Halifax.  
• £3bn for electrification and upgrades to the Manchester-Sheffield, Sheffield-Leeds, Sheffield-Hull and Leeds-Hull lines, bringing Sheffield and Hull into Northern Powerhouse Rail. 
• £12bn set aside to better connect Manchester to Liverpool – to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail as previously planned, including high-speed lines, or other options favoured by local leaders within the £12 billion envelope.  
• Nearly £5 billion for brand new deals for smaller cities, towns and rural counties across the North and Midlands – benefitting areas like Blackpool, Worcester, Harrogate and Scarborough.  
• £3.9 billion of additional investment for transport for city regions in the North, including Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester and Tees Valley.  
• A new £1.5bn transport fund for the new East Midlands Combined Authority (Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire).
• Funding the new Midlands Rail Hub with £1.75 billion to significantly increase capacity through central Birmingham and create a South-East style commuter network in the Midlands, connecting 50 stations from Cheltenham to Derby and increasing services to dozens of stations in the Midlands by between 50 and 100 per cent. 
• Strategic road projects such as improving the M6 Junction 15 between Manchester and Birmingham, and dualling the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham.  
• Reopening lines and stations closed under the Beeching cuts, including to Tavistock, Stocksbridge, Leicester - Burton, Ferryhill, Cullompton, Waverley near Rotherham and Haxby near York.  
• Upgrading links between Newark and Nottingham, halving times between Nottingham and Leeds.  
• Ensuring delivery of over 70 road schemes – 21 in the North, 10 in the Midlands, 39 in the South including the Shipley Bypass and Blyth Relief Road.   
• Investment in road pinch points, such as the A5 between Hinckley and Tamworth.  
• Extending the national £2 bus fare through to the end of December 2024.  
• Funding for hundreds of new local bus routes through Bus Service Improvement Plans.  
• Record investment to fix the blight of potholes on roads up and down the country.   
• Electrifying the North Wales Main Line to better connect Wales with London and the North West.  
• Upgrading the A75 to improve links between Scotland and the main port to Northern Ireland.  

Legislation is not required to stop work on Phases 2a and 2b.    

As with any new major infrastructure project, legislation may also be required to deliver some of the larger alternative projects announced today, such as for elements of Northern Powerhouse Rail.   

Phase 2a safeguarding will be formally lifted in weeks and Phase 2b safeguarding will be amended by summer next year, to allow for any safeguarding needed for Northern Powerhouse Rail. The land acquisition programme on Phase 2a will be halted immediately and HS2 will not be accepting new applications under the existing schemes from property owners in the areas where safeguarding is going to be lifted. Any property that is no longer required for HS2 will be sold and a programme is being developed to do this. By next Summer changes to the property schemes will be implemented.