A NEW station in Leeds will form part of the high-speed rail links to cities in the north of England.
Details of the link, including Sheffield and Leeds, have been unveiled this morning.
Extending the already-planned London to Birmingham HS2 line as far as Manchester and Leeds is designed to cut journey times, ease overcrowding and boost regional business. Officials say the £32.7 billion project will create at least 100,000 jobs.
But the Government is braced for a fresh backlash from rural communities through which the line will pass and some controversy over the chosen location of stations. The Department for Transport said there would be five stops on the 211-mile Y-shaped extension northwards from Birmingham - scheduled to be completed in 2032, six years after the first phase.
They are:
:: Manchester - alongside the existing Piccadilly station;
:: Manchester Airport - interchange by the M56 between Warburton Green and Davenport Green;
:: East Midlands - at Toton, between Nottingham and Derby and one mile from the M1;
:: Sheffield - at Meadowhall shopping centre;
:: Leeds - at New Lane in the South bank area connected to the main station by walkway.
Kirklees Council leader, Clr Mehboob Khan, says the HS2 will have a positive impact on Huddersfield and its residents.
Clr Khan said: “First of all we’ve go to push through rapidly with the electrification of the Trans Pennines line. There’s no point having London to Leeds in 80 minutes without improving the links into Leeds, connectivity is an important issue.
“We will also benefit because we’re part of the Leeds City Region, the economy will be boosted by the HS2 – we can attract business, growth and jobs.
“And that will affect the people of Kirklees too because 18,000 people from Kirklees work in Leeds, it will positively benefit us all.”
Clr Khan also says the high-speed rail line will boost Huddersfield Railway Station in the long-term, adding: “Huddersfield is the second busiest railway station in West Yorkshire.
“It will bring transport investment, frequency of trains, reliability and quality. of service.”
Long-term plans for a platform 9 at Huddersfield Railway Station were being discussed.
The 225mph passenger train is one of the coalition’s priority projects as it seeks to kick-start economic growth.