Northern leg of HS2 to Manchester will be scrapped | Politics News

The northern leg of the HS2 line is set to be scrapped, Sky News understands.

Rumours had been circling for weeks that the high-speed rail line between Birmingham and Manchester was going to be axed by the prime minister and chancellor due to soaring costs.

But even the reports led to a huge backlash from all sides of the political spectrum, including from former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Theresa May.

The first indications that the leg to Manchester could be scrapped came after the Independent reported that ministers were considering shelving the northern phase amid concerns about spiralling costs and severe delays.

The newspaper said a cost estimate revealed that the government has already spent £2.3bn on stage two of the railway from Birmingham to Manchester, but that ditching the northern phase could save up to £34bn.

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