LEADERS have spoken of their feelings of 'betrayal' after details of the long-awaited Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) were unveiled by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. 

It confirmed weeks of rumours and leaks that a new high-speed Northern Powerhouse Rail route between Leeds and Manchester would not be built and Bradford would not get a new station. 

Here's what the plan says about Bradford:​

-The route between Leeds and Bradford will be upgraded and electrified, cutting journey times to potentially as low as 12 minutes. 

The plan says: "We carefully examined the other options put forward by TfN (Tranport for the North) for full newbuild lines from Liverpool to Leeds via Manchester and Bradford. They would have made Manchester-Leeds journeys only four minutes faster than the option we have chosen, and cost an extra £18 billion."

-Work will begin on a Mass Transit System, with more than £200m of immediate funding.

"The IRP and Mass Transit System could transform local travel in and around Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Pontefract, Huddersfield and the whole of West Yorkshire; expand electrification of the local rail network; and directly improve the journeys which hundreds of thousands of people take every day."

On options for Northern Powerhouse Rail:

"Option 1 was a mixture of new-build high speed line, covering roughly half the route from Liverpool to Leeds, and upgrades to the existing lines into Leeds (via Huddersfield) and Liverpool (via Warrington Bank Quay) for the rest of the route.

"Option 2 was for an entirely new-build high speed line between Leeds and Manchester, including a new station on the outskirts of Bradford; a new line from Warrington to Liverpool (with a parkway station at Warrington); and an underground Piccadilly station with a connection allowing it to be used for Sheffield services.

"Option 3 was the same as Option 2, but with a new central station underground at Warrington (still offering less convenient interchange to Bank Quay); and an underground station in the vicinity of the existing Bradford Interchange station."

The plan says: "Of the three options, all were low to poor value for money."

On Manchester to Leeds and Bradford route choices:

It says: "Having regard to the available evidence, it is the Government’s view that: taking forward a section of new line from Manchester, which in conjunction with the upgrades to the Transpennine main line (upgraded to form NPR Phase 1) on the route towards Huddersfield, would provide the quickest and most cost-effective route to delivering close to a 30 minute Manchester-Leeds journey time.

"The scenarios tested indicate there is no demonstrable business case for a new underground station in Bradford."

The plan says the Interchange has an "excellent central location" but its approach and orientation leads to slower journey times.

And on St James's Market, it adds: "A new surface station at the St James’ wholesale market site, Bradford Council’s proposed solution, could offer journey time savings, and facilitate wider regeneration.

"However, it is separated from the centre of Bradford by a major 6-lane highway (Wakefield Road), and risks poorer interchange with other local rail and bus, services without additional unfunded interventions. A station on the former avoiding line to the south would be further from the city centre than St James’s Market and would likely require some further local transport investment to make it viable."

The plan says the Government is proposing to manage the Transpennine Route Upgrade as the first phase of NPR.

"This will include full route electrification and so bring forward benefits for passengers and freight users and communities along the route," it says, and adds that HS2 Ltd is being asked to take forward route selection for a section of new line from the new HS2 station at Manchester Piccadilly to join the Transpennine route to Huddersfield.

It adds: "Network Rail is also being asked to take forward an upgrade of the line between Bradford and Leeds via New Pudsey to include speed improvements and electrification.

"The aim would be to deliver a non-stop journey time between the cities potentially as low as 12 minutes (subject to business case). This could also deliver earlier benefits including journey time savings of 5 minutes or more for trips between Halifax or the Upper Calder Valley and Leeds.

"Work done by Network Rail for TfN has already considered in detail the case for a new line from Manchester to Bradford. The Government considers that, on the basis of available evidence, it is unlikely that a case for such a new line could be made."

It says by 2030, passengers could see: "Electrification and improvements to the Bradford to Leeds line, reducing journey times and preparing for further enhancements in the Bradford area. This represents an acceleration on current proposals from Transport for the North."