THE leader of Bradford Council has met with HS2 bosses to lobby for local rail improvements to be included in the £46 billion scheme.

Earlier this year, the local authority refused to back the high-speed rail project linking Leeds to the capital, saying the benefits to the Bradford district were not clear.

Now Council leader, Councillor David Green, is pushing for investment in the regional rail network to be incorporated into the scheme.

His list of requests includes the sought-after electrification of the Calder Valley line linking Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale and Manchester.

It also includes faster services between Bradford and Leeds and the reinstatement of the Wortley Curve railway line, linking Bradford to Wakefield, which closed in the 1980s.

Alison Munro, HS2’s managing director for development, travelled up to Bradford by train from London, to experience the current journey for herself and to meet with Cllr Green.

She said: "We have always been clear that the benefits of HS2 will extend beyond the line.

"HS2 will free up space on the existing network, opening up the possibility of new services for which there is not currently room.

"And together with targeted investment in the region’s railways, the potential is there to deliver a bigger and better railway for Yorkshire."

Cllr Green said regional train connections needed to be improved if HS2 were to bring real economic benefits to northern cities like Bradford.

He said: "I have always said that the HS2 project would need to include significant investment in regional and local rail infrastructure to spread and maximise benefits across the region and bring direct benefit to the Bradford district.

"Our priority has always been to push for investment in regional rail infrastructure to help free up capacity on our current railway network, reduce overcrowding on commuter train services and improve the direct national links north and south from Bradford.

"With improved regional rail links delivered for the benefit of Bradford District as part of HS2, like faster services between Bradford and Leeds, the reinstatement of the Wortley Curve railway line, the electrification of the railway line from Leeds via Bradford and the Calder Valley to Manchester, then I would support high speed rail."