HIGH-SPEED RAIL LINK ROUTES

That this House supports plans to build a high-speed rail link between London and Leeds; recognises that the network could potentially rebalance the national economy if it were to include Leeds, Sheffield and the East Midlands; welcomes the proposals for a Y-shaped network to link London to Birmingham and then on to Leeds via the East Midlands and Sheffield; prefers this network to the alternative S-shaped route, accessing Leeds via Manchester but not serving the East Midlands or Sheffield; believes that the network would connect to an additional 6.7 million people and three million jobs; believes that this would deliver 2.3 billion in wider economic benefits; and fully supports a high-speed link from London to the east coast regions.