Yorkshire must not be the poor relation to Manchester over a new high-speed rail link between London and the North, a transport boss has urged.

Metro chairman Councillor Ryk Downes said a Government announcement that no final route had been decided was good news for this area and he said efforts must be re-doubled to ensure Yorkshire did not miss out.

The Labour administration wanted a Y-shaped spur with a single line from London to Birmingham before branching off to Leeds and Manchester.

The preferred route by the new coalition Government is not decided but it will include links to Heathrow. The Conservatives wanted an S-shaped network with trains leaving London up to Birmingham, before going to Manchester and ending at Leeds. Transport Minister Theresa Villiers speaking in the first high-speed rail debate since the coalition was formed said the entire route drawn up by High Speed 2, a company created by the previous Government to conduct the study, would be reconsidered.

Councillor Downes said: “Going to Manchester first would disadvantage Yorkshire and the economy.

“We would like to see the East Coast being built first or at least at the same time as the West Coast line. We now need to redouble our efforts and ensure we do not end up with a line via Manchester. It puts us on the backwater, the poor relation, and will suppress economic growth and be devastating for the region.”

Andy Cullwick, commercial director of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce, said: “Business’s immediate priorities for the new Government are to increase the rail capacity for the East Coast Main Line which is rapidly reaching capacity and is expensive for business travellers. We support the longer term exploration of high speed rail to include an east coast alignment, but not at the expense of the main priority. However, we believe the proposal for a London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds route fails to deliver significant regional benefits and does not give a true high-speed link to the region.

A high-speed line is expected to slash times from Leeds to Euston from two hours 20 minutes to one hour 20 minutes. Miss Villiers said the Government planned to introduce legislation allowing the line to go ahead before the next election.