THE Government last night attempted to placate critics of its £32bn high speed rail project – and stated journey time savings could be even faster than previously thought.

On a visit to Newcastle Central Station, Junior Transport Minister Mike Penning claimed the new HS2 network, which under current proposals will go no further north than Leeds, would mean journey times between the North-East and London would be cut dramatically.

Mr Penning met representatives from the likes of the North-East Chamber of Commerce, Tyne and Wear Metro operator Nexus and local councils and said the response had been “really positive”.

Phase one of the scheme will see a new line built between London and Birmingham which will extend into a “Y shape” in phase two with twin lines to Leeds and Manchester.

Mr Penning said: “The key thing is not just how fast people will be able to get to London with the Y network going ahead – it will be nearly an hour faster from Newcastle – but there will be improved connectivity to other great Northern cities, as well as a freeing up of the East Coast Main Line.”

The minister conceded that the HS2 network was not extending into the North-East – trains will run at up to 250mph between London and Leeds and then switch to conventional tracks – but said the Government “could not spend money it didn’t have”.

“We have the money to go into Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds, which will then add guaranteed connectivity into the East and West Coast Main Lines,” he said.

“For this part of the world, connectivity into the East Coast Main Line is hugely significant.

“There is also £800m worth of transport infrastructure we have already announced which is going ahead in the North-East, including the Metro upgrade.”

Mr Penning dismissed any doubts over whether the second phase of the scheme would go ahead, but added: “We won’t delay phase one while we try and get the legislation sorted out for phase two.”

A spokesman for the Department for Transport later confirmed that the latest modelling by HS2 – the company behind the project – showed the journey time between Newcastle and London could be cut from the current 3hrs 9mins to 2hrs 18 mins.

Previously published estimates had suggested a new journey time of 2hrs 37 mins.

The spokesman said this was the “best time available”

and included an assumption that a train between the two cities would not necessarily stop at all the places inbetween.