Grant Shapps' rail plan for the North does not deliver on the "promises made" to the region at the 2019 election or the "stated aims" of the levelling up agenda, an influential Commons committee has said.
In a report published today, the Transport Select Committee said the plan, unveiled last year, should be “reconsidered” to avoid a “missed opportunity”.
The Transport Secretary previously said the £96 billion Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) would slash journey times across the North with 110 miles of new high-speed line.
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But closer inspection of the plan revealed the requested investment by northern leaders had roughly been cut in half and instead of the new lines promised, much of the cash will go towards upgrades of existing routes.
Northern mayors have long been calling for HS2 to be built in full in the North and for a new high speed Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) network to run from Liverpool to Leeds via Manchester and Bradford.
But instead of sticking to its previous promises over NPR the Government rowed back on that plan in November last year, instead opting for upgrades to the current line connecting Liverpool and Warrington.
From Warrington, a new high speed line will be built to Manchester and on to Marsden in Yorkshire.
The select committee accused ministers of not completing a "full analysis of the wider economic impacts" of making such a decision.
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They also said it is was therefore "difficult to see how the Government has fully assessed the levelling-up agenda".
The report states: "The Government’s levelling up agenda commits it to ending geographical inequality in the UK. However, by underserving the rail needs of the North of England it is letting down those who require change the most.
"Upgrading lines will undoubtedly bring modest benefits to rail services in the North and Midlands, but not to the transformative extent necessary to end regional imbalances.
"The evidence base for the IRP must be reconsidered in the light of these aims, if this once-in-a-generation investment in rail is not to be a missed opportunity.
The report concludes that if an economic analysis shows that NPR should be delivered in full, then ministers "must grasp that nettle".
It adds: "Extra costs are not to be incurred lightly, but a significantly better outcome for our economy and communities is a worthwhile investment for generations into the future."
Tory MP Huw Merriman, who chairs the committee, said: “The Prime Minister promised that he would, with Northern Powerhouse Rail, do for the North what he did for Londoners with Crossrail.
“Instead, much of the track will be an upgrade of existing line.
“The business case of HS2 was based on it going east to Leeds. Now, it stops in the East Midlands without any understanding of how much money is saved.
“Those we spoke to from the cities of Leeds and Bradford, in particular, do not recognise that the finalised plans meet either the promises they believe were made or the Prime Minister’s stated aims."
Northern Powerhouse Partnership chief executive Henri Murison said: “The Transport Select Committee are right to highlight the serious connectivity and economic problems arising from the Integrated Rail Plan, not least the issue of Bradford missing out on Northern Powerhouse Rail and the long-awaited study on how to get HS2 trains to Leeds.
“Boris Johnson broke promises to the north over transport investment again and again. Funding and delivery of major infrastructure cannot be subject to the whim of politicians in Whitehall as they have proved themselves unfit for task.
“We will continue to provide every support possible to Network Rail alongside Transport for the North to make sure the Integrated Rail Plan does deliver what it has promised - at a minimum - including initially the upgrade of the East Coast Mainline York to Newcastle and a major upgrade including electrification between Leeds and Bradford, as well as new line between Warrington to Marsden.”
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