SHADOW Transport Secretary Andy McDonald has said Labour is “committed” to extending the HS2 rail project further North, but would monitor the costs carefully.

The Middlesbrough MP spoke at a fringe meeting at the Labour Party conference in Brighton and again set out his view that high speed rail could benefit the North-East.

But he faced criticism from business-led think-tank Policy North which said knocking a few minutes off journey times would have little economic impact on the region.

Mr McDonald said HS2 should benefit the entire country and needed to go further than Church Fenton (south of York) and also extend beyond Crewe in the west, right up to Scotland.

The second phase of HS2 will see high-speed lines built from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester.

Beyond Leeds, the region will still served by high speed trains, but currently they will run on existing inter-city lines, meaning less substantial savings in terms of reduced travel times.

Mr McDonald said: “This is the early stages and we have lots of work to do. There would need to be consultations and we'd need to engage with people as to where is the best route [will be].

“The cost benefit ratios and analyses have got to be revisited, if we simply apply London models we will be hampered in transforming our economy and rebalancing it, that is another piece of work that has to be undertaken.

“This all needs to be scoped out, but we are setting out our aims and objectives and want people to work with us to achieve them.”

David Harrison, president of Policy North, said: "Knocking a few minutes off journey times with an HS2 extension northwards will have little economic impact on the North of England.

"For a start it will take decades and will not be the catalyst for the transformation needed to close the North/South divide..

"That’s why Labour are on the wrong track with their announcement about extending high speed rail beyond current plans.

“The North needs new transport infrastructure but politicians on all sides need to think much bigger and about tomorrow’s technology, not yesterday’s.”

In 2011 former Newcastle University Professor John Tomaney gave evidence to a House of Commons transport select committee about the local and regional impacts of high speed rail and said they were “ambiguous at best and negative at worst.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen recently launched what he said was "fully costed, credible plans" to connect Darlington to the HS2 network.

He said: "Without modern, efficient and reliable transport links, the vast economic potential of the North cannot be realised.

"Once fully completed, HS2 will properly link north and south, helping to rebalance our economy and drive growth and productivity – the effects of which we’ll feel on Teesside too.”