OTLEY'S MP Alex Sobel has hit out at "major flaws" in the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan - dubbing it the "Bus Replacement service" for the Northern Powerhouse Rail.

In a speech to the Commons last week the MP for Leeds North West said: “My colleagues and I were extremely disappointed with the decision to scrap Northern Powerhouse Rail between Leeds and Manchester. Although the IRP, or, as I like to call it, the bus replacement service, has some things to like —we will be constructive about them where they meet our aims for Yorkshire—the impact of the loss of high-speed rail will have ripple effects through every community in our region.”

“There are currently two lines that run from Leeds to Bradford. One takes 20 minutes, stopping twice, and the other takes 24 minutes, stopping four times. Both those lines are at maximum frequency. There is no way, on the current line, to meet the 12-minute target to Bradford without sacrificing local services and local stops. I have constituents living between those stops who do not feel that the cancellation of NPR affects them, but when residents who commute to Leeds or Bradford by rail find that their service will be cut to meet the Leeds-Bradford target, what will they do? The answer is probably to increase car use”

“Most concerning is the broken promise of new stations in Leeds and in Bradford. Faster and more regular services require more platform space, and Leeds is already at capacity. Without extra capacity, will my constituents who use the Harrogate line have their services cut? I would like the rail Minister to answer that question.”

In a policy paper issued in November the Department for Transport said the Integrated Rail Plan sets out the government’s proposals to transform the rail network in the North and Midlands.

It said: "The £96 billion plan says that major rail projects, including HS2 Phase 2b, Northern Powerhouse Rail and Midlands Rail Hub, will be delivered sooner than previous plans so that communities, towns and cities across the North and Midlands are better connected with more frequent, reliable and greener services and faster journey times."

In the foreword to the document Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the plan, including Northern Powerhouse Rail, as "the biggest ever government investment in our rail network, in redressing decades of underspending in the Midlands and North, and in levelling up our country."