AT long last, Labour has come up with a plan to upgrade Britain’s rail network.

As far as it goes, it is a sensible, welcome plan, and faster travel from London to Leeds will benefit this region.

But the plan, like the line, doesn’t go far enough.

It is very disappointing that the plan doesn’t firmly commit to extending the line from Leeds into the North-East. All studies show that the economic benefits would be great and self-financing, in terms of job creation and economic growth.

No other project would do more to close the North/South Divide, in terms of both distance and economic performance.

Instead, yesterday’s plan regards the North-East link as “a long-term aspiration”.

In political-speak, a long-term aspiration nearly always finds itself with such long grass growing around it that it disappears from view.

There are obviously enormous cost implications, but if this is truly to be a national plan, the whole nation should reap the maximum benefit from it.

Talking of cost raises another issue, which is potentially more worrying than simply missing out on the high speed link: the future of the existing East Coast Main Line.

Building the new line won’t start until 2017 at the earliest. It will take a decade or more to complete. Let’s allow for delays, and put 2035 down as the earliest opening date.

For all that time, this £30bn project will be sucking all the money out of the rail transport budget.

What will happen to the dear old East Coast, which is already overcrowded to the point of discomfort and which is forecast soon to be operating at 45 per cent over its capacity.

For the foreseeable future, it is the North-East’s sole link to London and beyond. It will need investment. It cannot be forgotten.