HS2 latest as reports suggest 'high-speed line will end in Birmingham, where trains will continue to Manchester on West Coast Mainline track'

Manchester will not get a new HS2 line, according to reports this evening. Sky News has reported that the high-speed railway line will stop at Birmingham, where trains will continue to Manchester on the existing West Coast Mainline track.

According to the broadcaster, HS2 will start in central London at Euston, as originally planned rather than at Old Oak Common. But between Birmingham and Manchester, the trains will not be high-speed, Sky News says.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham tweeted: "So, in other words, HS2 won't go to Manchester and people in the North will be treated as second-class citizens - again? What a disgrace."

It follows weeks of speculation over the fate of the second phase of the multi-billion pound scheme. Ministers have repeatedly refused to confirm whether HS2 line to Manchester will go ahead since reports first emerged last month that the government was considering shelving the plans due to concerns about spiralling costs and severe delays.

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Former Prime Ministers, regional mayors and business leaders from across the country have come out in support of the scheme which successive governments have committed to delivering since 2009.

Greater Manchester's top politicians have asked the Prime Minister to meet with them during the Conservative Party Conference which is currently being held in the city, but they say they have not received a response from the government so far.

They have urged the government to build HS2 and the new east-to-west Northern Powerhouse Rail