Manchester, Scotland want more guarantees from High Speed Rail plans

The 'Y' shaped railtrack proposal to link London to Leeds, and London to Manchester are only going as far as Birmingham in the government's initial plans.

The government however has refused to commit to the rest of the Y-shaped link, as well as the further extension to Scotland until after the initial £17.4 billion project to Birmingham is done.

"We want to see the government build on the proposals and develop them into something more far-reaching and more concrete." said Couns. Keith Whitmore.

"A firm commitment to timescales and funding will be necessary for us to be able to factor high-speed rail into our plans for the future of Manchester's rail services."

Under the proposals, Lord Adonis Transport Secretary has announced work to start in 2017 and be completed by 2026.

No firm commitment has been made by the government on the route to Manchester and Leeds with 'consultation only' planned from 2012.

Meanwhile, it has left services to Scotland 'without any guarantee on High Speed Rail' meaning journey times to Edinburgh will have been reduced by only 10 minutes after 16 years, and significant investment.

Network's chief executive Iain Coucher questioned the reasoning behind a proposal from London to Leeds via Birmingham:

“A route from Leeds that swings across to Birmingham would be longer than building one that went straight down to London,” he said.