LIZ Truss has said she would not commit to restoring plans for the HS2 line to Leeds - just a day after the UK Government came under fire for scrapping another part of the rail project in the north of England.

While the Tory leadership contender said she is "completely committed" to building Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), she failed to lay out any details for the plan.

NPR is a scheme to improve rail connections between Liverpool and Leeds.

Transport for the North, which advises the UK Government on the region’s transport needs, recommended that new lines should be built between the cities.

READ MORE: UK told to clarify whether key HS2 link to Scotland will EVER be built

But the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan sparked outrage among northern leaders in November last year when it revealed that a new line would only be built on one section, with the rest of the route getting enhancements to existing lines.

Truss did not go into detail about whether she would support NPR being built with new lines if she became prime minister.

She said she would not commit to reversing the decision to scrap HS2’s eastern leg between the East Midlands and Leeds.

Truss told reporters in the city: “What I’m committing to today is Northern Powerhouse Rail. I grew up in Leeds, I know how poor the local transport is.

“What people need is good routes to commute into work. That is where there is a real issue for people getting into work around West Yorkshire.”

But she added: “I’m not going to commit to restoring that leg of HS2 (to Leeds).”

She added: “I have committed to Northern Powerhouse Rail going ahead, and I will immediately, upon becoming Prime Minister, work with my new Transport Secretary, bring all the local groups together – the councils, the mayor, the MPs to create the plan to move forward with this really import project, but I’m clear it is absolutely crucial for the future of the north of England.”

Asked whether Rishi Sunak was as committed to the project, Truss said: “The thing about me is I’m prepared to take on the Whitehall orthodoxy, I’m prepared to challenge the groupthink that has, over decades, not put enough investment into this part of the country.

“I’m the person who can challenge Whitehall to get on with it and really deliver over the next decade.”

Responding to her comments on NPR, Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, a network of business and civic leaders, said: “The outgoing Prime Minister broke his promises to the North when he published the Integrated Rail Plan.

“This would bring back government support for the original Northern Powerhouse vision of a single travel-to-work area across the Pennines, driving up productivity to secure growth for UK plc.

“Whoever becomes the next prime minister should build the new line from Manchester, connecting the airport, through to Bradford, with services across to Leeds.”

Labour shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh accused Truss of offering only “weasel words” on delivering new lines.

She said: “The weasel words of the two continuity candidates over whether they will deliver the new lines promised show they are only offering more of the same.

“Only a Labour government would deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 in full, build the infrastructure fit for the 21st century, and give Britain the fresh start it needs.”

It follows calls for the UK Government to clarify whether a vital piece of high-speed rail infrastructure will actually be built and bring benefits to the rail network in Scotland.

A report by Westminster’s Transport Select Committee on the Integrated Rail Plan expressed concerns over the scrapping of the £3 billion Golborne Link with a lack of alternative proposals – a decision that could impact rail capacity and journey times to Scotland.

The Committee report urged the Department for Transport to set out “alternative plans which add similar capacity as a minimum by March 2023”.

The publication of the Integrated Rail Plan last year included plans for the link, which would integrate the new HS2 line with the existing West Coast Mainline running south from Scotland.

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However, the UK Government announced last month that the link would be scrapped, with no replacement in place and works on Phase 2b of the HS2 project due to begin soon.

The news was met with fury from rail industry bodies, who said the decision to axe the 13-mile Golborne Link in Greater Manchester will lead to a “bottleneck”.

A joint statement from the Railway Industry Association, Rail Freight Group and High-Speed Rail Group said the Tory decision would "negatively impact outcomes for passengers, decarbonisation and levelling up".

Gavin Newlands, the SNP’s shadow transport secretary, criticised the move as the "latest in a long line of broken promises” from the Tories.