Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has hit out at the “moaning London commentators” who have criticised the controversial High Speed 2 rail project.
McLoughlin launched his latest defence of the £42.6 billion project during a speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.
He said he was “proud to support HS2” which was “an essential heart bypass for the clogged arteries of our transport system”.
McLoughlin added: “I am tired of the moaning from London commentators who are pleased enough about billions of essential investment in Crossrail but can’t understand why the rest of the country needs great transport too.
“Today you can get a high speed train from London into the heart of Europe in Brussels but not to the great city of Birmingham.
“You can go direct to Lille but not the great city of Leeds. You can even go all the way to the Alps if you want but not here to the great city of Manchester. That is bad for our nation and it has got to change."
The first phase of HS2 from London’s Euston to Birmingham is due to open in 2026 before extending further north with two separate lines to Manchester and Leeds from 2032.
“The reason we need this new line is not as an alternative to other essential transport investment – in fact, in the next parliament we will be spending three times as much money on roads and other rail schemes,” said McLoughlin.
He added that the UK’s rail network was “almost full” and there was “not the space we need for the future”. He also promised that "we will squeeze every penny of economic benefit out of the line and cut down on costs".
“The new line will take the strain off the roads as it will offer the same capacity as a new 12-lane motorway,” McLoughlin told the conference audience. “While I hear the critics, the truth is that we need a new north-south line to make our country stronger."
He said that HS2 would benefit from having the “Olympic dream team” at its helm – former LOCOG boss Lord Deighton is head of the HS2 Taskforce while Sir David Higgins, who was previously chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority, was appointed last week as chairman of HS2 Ltd.
McLoughlin also announced plans to bring "ultra-fast broadband to our trains".
"It will be quicker than most home internet and almost three-quarters of passengers will benefit from it by the end of the decade," he said.