The Prime Minister has unveiled plans for Sheffield to be connected to Manchester in a 42-minute-long electric link as part of his ‘Network North’ scheme.
In his speech at the Conservative Party Conference, Sunak pledged that he would spend the £36 billion budget initially left for HS2 to spend on projects in the Midlands and the north.
Sheffield will also gain a new link to Stocksbridge under the Network North scheme.
The Prime Minister said: “I am ending this long-running saga, I am cancelling the rest of the HS2 project.
“In its place, we will reinvest every single penny in hundreds of new transport projects in the north and the Midlands.
“We’ll bring back the Don Valley line, we’ll build hundreds of other schemes and keep the £2 bus scheme across the whole country.”
The plans have come under fire as a result of the Tories’ U-turn over their policy to deliver HS2, scrapping plans to connect the north to the Midlands and the south.
The eastern leg of HS2 covering Sheffield and Leeds was scrapped in 2021, with the Manchester leg now also discontinued.
Mayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard was one of many who took to X to criticise the plans.
He said: “Network North means nothing more than reheated projects they’ve had 13 years to deliver, and more promises for the future they won’t deliver.”
Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley Louise Haigh accused Sunak of renouncing projects ‘delivered nearly a decade ago’.
The HS2 website had promised that the project would ‘fuel Sheffield’s growth plans, offering improved connectivity and a clearer alternative to long distance car journeys’.
It also aimed to create 70,000 private sector jobs and 6,000 businesses as part of a scheme that was set to generate £4 billion for the city.
There had also been plans released in 2016 for there to be a ‘South Yorkshire Hub’ station to be built for HS2, with six South Yorkshire sites considered.
Bramley, Mexborough, Hooton Roberts and Wales in Rotherham were part of the now-scrapped proposals alongside Clayton and Hickleton in Doncaster.