PLANS for an upgraded, high-speed rail link between Manchester and Leeds must not distract from the pressing need for electrification of the line between Hull and Selby, an independent expert has warned.
Chancellor George Osborne will use a keynote speech in Manchester today to announce a new link between two of the north's largest cities cities should be considered as part of the review of the second phase of the HS2 project.
Mr Osborne will say: "We need to create a northern powerhouse, bring together cities, like Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Hull, that are physically quite close to each other, but don't have the transport links, don't cooperate in the way that you would see in a single global city."
David Walford, an independent rail development consultant, welcomes the announcement, but believes the more pressing priority is getting the all-important electrification for the Hull to Selby line signed off.
He said: "A lot of people, I believe, mistakenly believe the Government has already approved electrification between Hull and Selby. They haven't.
"In March, the minister announced, effectively, that costings would be done. No approval was given.
"For me, that's the real concern here. That's what people should be focussing on."
Under current plans the £50bn HS2 high-speed rail project will link London to Birmingham in its first stage, before creating a Y-shaped network with lines to Manchester and Leeds by 2032/33.
But concerns about connectivity between the northern cities were raised in the report by HS2 Ltd's chairman Sir David Higgins earlier this year.
Mr Osborne will say HS2 as currently planned will "change the economic geography of our country" and mean London and Manchester are an hour apart, but "we must do much more to connect our northern cities".
Mr Walford said: "I am very much in favour of planning long-term. It's what our railway network needs.
"Hull would certainly benefit if Manchester and Leeds were linked on the high-speed network, but that's 20 to 25 years away.
"In the short-term, we need the electrification of Hull to Selby. I believe it makes no sense stopping at Selby - it needs to go all the way through to Hull.
"This will benefit Hull and the East Riding in term of commerce, industry and, in particular, tourism."
Mr Osborne will say: "We need an ambitious plan to make the cities and towns here in this northern belt radically more connected from east to west - to create the equivalent of travelling around a single global city.
"As well as fixing the roads, that means considering a new high-speed rail link.
"Today I want us to start thinking about whether to build a new high-speed rail connection east-west from Manchester to Leeds."
The proposed line would be based on the existing rail route between the cities, "but speeded up with new tunnels and infrastructure" to create "a third high-speed railway for Britain".
Following the existing route between Manchester and Leeds could help avoid the levels of political and environmental opposition which the existing plans for HS2 have faced.
Mr Osborne will say London's dominance is "not healthy" for the economy and a northern counterbalance was needed.
"The cities of the North are individually strong, but collectively not strong enough," he will say.
"The whole is less than the sum of its parts. So the powerhouse of London dominates more and more.
"And that's not healthy for our economy. It's not good for our country. We need a Northern Powerhouse too.
"Not one city, but a collection of northern cities - sufficiently close to each other that combined they can take on the world.
"Able to provide jobs and opportunities and security to the many, many people who live here, and for whom this is all about."
He will say that in a "modern, knowledge-based, economy, city size matters like never before".
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "Nobody will believe the Tories can deliver the jobs, growth and investment we need for the north of England.
"Regional growth divides have widened markedly since 2010. The Tories scrapped Labour's successful regional development agencies, failed to implement Lord Heseltine's growth report and are planning to cut infrastructure investment next year."
He added: "On high-speed rail, we said months ago that we need value for money for the taxpayer and to improve the existing plans to maximise the benefits for the whole country and strengthen the links between northern cities. Ministers need finally to start listening."
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