The plan for the eastern leg was to join HS2 to the existing east coast mainline, connecting London with Newcastle, Durham, Darlington and York.

Here's how the high speed service was expected to cut journey times.

We are expecting announcements on alternatives to bring these journey times down so stay with us for updates.

As we await the details of the government's plan let's have a look at what we know so far. It looks like the high speed line from the East Midlands to Leeds will not go ahead. So what will there be instead?

Boris Johnson is appearing to confirm reports that a shorter high-speed route will be created from Birmingham to East Midlands Parkway, with the HS2 trains then running up as far as Sheffield on mainline tracks.

Writing in the Yorkshire Post,, external the PM says: "HS2 will come to Sheffield, meaning a trip to or from London will take just one hour 27 minutes - precisely the same as under the old HS2 plans.

"We'll look at how to get HS2 to Leeds too, with a new study on the best way to make it happen.

"But high-speed rail is grindingly slow to build. Under the original blueprint, first drawn up more than a decade ago, Yorkshire would have not have seen the benefits of our investment until at least the 2040s. Levelling up can't wait that long."

As we've just explained, HS2 was originally meant to connect London with the city centres of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

But we are expecting Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to confirm that the East Midlands-Leeds HS2 high-speed line will not be built.

He's going to be speaking in the House of Commons in the next few minutes so stay with us for live updates.

Image source, HS2

Before we get the inside track on the government's rail plan here's a whistlestop tour of the basics.

What is HS2?

HS2 is a massive project intended to create high-speed rail links between London and major cities in the Midlands and North of England.

It will cost tens of billions of pounds and is aimed at cutting journey times and increasing capacity.

It's hoped HS2 will create jobs and grow the UK economy outside London.

But HS2 has faced delays and mounting concerns over the exact route and spiralling costs.

What is the HS2 route and how is it changing?

HS2 was originally meant to connect London with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

Work has already started on the first phase, linking London and the West Midlands.

The next section will extend the line to Crewe.

The final phase was to take HS2 to Manchester and Leeds.

But the Leeds leg is being scrapped.

We'll know more when the government publishes its Integrated Rail Plan later.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage as Grant Shapps sets out the government's rail plan.

The transport secretary will be in the House of Commons to announce the government's long awaited Integrated Rail Plan.

He is expected to confirm that the eastern leg of HS2 - from Birmingham to Leeds - will not go ahead in its current form.

We're also expecting significant changes to the plans for a high-speed route across the Pennines.

These infrastructure projects were a key part of the government's "levelling up" agenda for the north of England.

Business leaders and politicians in the region have already expressed anger about changes to the plans.

But the government is expected to announced funding for projects which they say will have impact and be quicker to deliver.