Reform UK says it would scrap high-speed northern rail plans | Manchester News

A Reform UK government would scrap plans to build the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) link, its deputy leader has said.

In a report to the right-leaning Policy Exchange think tank, Richard Tice said companies considering bidding for contracts to build east-to-west high-speed rail links should “not bother”.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham rejected Tice’s comments and suggested Reform UK wanted a “second-class railway” for the north of England.

The government also said northern England had been stuck with “second-rate” transport links for too long, and that this was “leaving communities cut off and holding back growth”.

The NPR is a project to boost rail services going east to west across northern England, and was first proposed by former Tory chancellor George Osbourne in 2014 before being shelved under Boris Johnson’s adminstration.

Labour is expected to announce the return of the scheme within the next few weeks.

Tice said a Reform UK government would “spend the money instead on things the country needs more”.

Citing the “billions in overspending” related to HS2, he described the government’s expected commitment to more high-speed rail links as “insanity”.

The Policy Exchange report proposed a set of alternative schemes, including a Manchester version of London’s Elizabeth Line.

It predicted NPR would be an “even greater train crash” than HS2, as a new line between Liverpool and Manchester could cost £30bn.

Researchers warned journeys between the cities on this line would take one minute longer than the fastest current services – which are 34 minutes – because it would also serve Manchester Airport.

Policy Exchange claimed the “crisis in HS2 is even worse than ministers admit”, as the “true cost” for the line between London and Birmingham is “up to 22%” higher than the amount declared to Parliament.

A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said: “We do not recognise these claims.

“HS2 Ltd is committed to the highest levels of transparency and our accounts are extensively audited by the National Audit Office.”

Tice said: “Even as the historic disaster of HS2 blows through more billions in overspending and more years of delay, even as it sucks money from things the country actually needs, even as taxes on people and business rise, ministers are about to commit to further high-speed rail schemes which could make HS2’s problems and price tag look trivial.”

But Burnham said Tice and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage were both “creatures of the London establishment” and he was not “surprised in the slightest” to hear of their opposition to NPR.

“Across Europe, every other country connects its big cities by modern high-speed rail,” said Greater Manchester’s Labour mayor.

“But, like the Conservatives before them, the Reform party seems to believe that this should be a privilege only conferred on the southern half of the UK.

“We have higher ambitions for the North than them.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The North has been stuck with second-rate transport for too long, leaving communities cut off and holding back growth.

“The government is delivering the transport infrastructure needed for faster and more reliable journeys to create jobs and deliver stronger growth – such as the Transpennine Route Upgrade which is already delivering more efficient journeys between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.

“We will set out our ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail in the near future.”