What is the new HS2 route? The UK’s high-speed rail network mapped

Rishi Sunak said he will cancel the northern leg of HS2 and invest the money into regional connectivity instead.

The prime minister pledged to inject the £36 billion saved by not building HS2 phase 2a and 2b into more than a hundred transport schemes across the UK.

However, taxpayers will have to wait until 2029 — when the funds would have been used for HS2 — for the vast majority of projects to get under way.

Passengers will also face longer journey times between London and the north under the new plans, which will mean the HS2 line ending in Staffordshire.

HS2 trains will connect to the west coast mainline at the Handsacre junction, near Lichfield, from where they will head north to Manchester, Liverpool