TYNESIDE transport bosses will meet this week to agree the strongest warning yet to the Government that high-speed rail plans do not go far enough.

Members of the Tyne & Wear Integrated Transport Authority are expected to back concerns that the £32bn plans will have a “minimal impact”.

The Government closes a consultation on the first leg of its high speed plans, from London to Birmingham, at the end of this month.

Ministers say they want to then extend the new line in a Y-shape to Leeds and Manchester. High speed trains travelling further north will then switch on to the existing East and West Coast lines towards Newcastle and Scotland.

While the Transport Authority strongly supports the case for a high-speed line, its consultation response stresses that the North East could miss out on most of the benefits from the line.

Councillors sitting on the board will be asked on Thursday to agree a response that calls on ministers to start planning to extend the line further north “with the utmost urgency”.

A report states: “The proposals do not extend the high-speed rail line north of Leeds to the North East. There would be minimal benefits in terms of journey times between Newcastle and London, but links to other cities would be faster.”

East Coast trains currently run one Newcastle to London morning service that achieves the same two hours 37 minutes journey time as the standard time expected for high speed on the same route.