Crewe and Wigan delight over HS2

Britain’s high speed rail lines to the North look likely to bring a new hub station to the Cheshire town of Crewe and are set to make Wigan the gateway to region’s super-fast travel network.

This follows yesterday’s (Monday, July 17) announcement by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling confirming HS2 routes linking Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and the East Midlands to London.

An upcoming bill for the section from the West Midlands to Crewe will effectively act as a planning application, with the line expected to open in 2027 if approved by Parliament.

Wigan will be the gateway to high speed rail with the west coast mainline joining the high speed network just to the south of Wigan and connecting to Crewe, Birmingham then London Euston.

Once completed Wigan will connect to Birmingham in just 35 minutes, London in one hour 23 minutes, and will mean more than 8,000 extra seats for commuters per day.

The Transport Secretary also announced the decision to award the first stage of £6.6 bn worth of new contracts – supporting 16,000 jobs across the country.

Grayling said: “Britain’s new railway line will bring huge economic benefits across the country and help ensure this government delivers on its promise to spread wealth beyond London and the south-east.

“But as well as creating skilled jobs, apprenticeships and business opportunities, it will also mean real day-to-day improvements for people across the country.

“By building a whole new railway line for high-speed intercity connections, we will free up local services, meaning more comfort, more seats and more trains for passengers across the north and the midlands.

“We will now press ahead with building the line, while continuing to ensure affected communities get appropriate support and are treated with fairness, compassion and respect.”

HS2 chairman David Higgins said: “Today we have taken a huge step forward in connecting eight of our largest cities, freeing up space on our railways and building a catalyst for growth across the country.

“Once completed 30 million people will be served by HS2 across over 25 stations, helping to change the economic geography of the country, and bring prosperity to the midlands, the north, and beyond.”

Meanwhile, in the North West, Cheshire East Council leader Rachel Bailey hailed the announcement.

She said: “We welcome the Hybrid Bill for Phase 2a of HS2, from Birmingham to Crewe, being put before Parliament. This is a key milestone for this ‘once in a generation’ rail project, which will see a Crewe hub station opening in 2027.

“This council also welcomes further recognition of the overwhelming case for a HS2 hub station in Crewe.

“We are pleased to see that the Department for Transport has launched a consultation on the Crewe HS2 hub station and related components. The council will consider the consultation proposals in detail to ensure our consultation responses reflect the best possible outcomes for Cheshire East residents.”

There was similar joy in Wigan where business and council leaders also welcomed final approval from Government of the HS2 route.

Cllr David Molyneux,  deputycouncil leader, said: “Today’s announcement by the government is another significant milestone for the borough.

“Wigan is one of the best, if not the best, strategically placed boroughs in the North West for business and HS2 will help us deliver widespread economic benefits for our residents in the years and decades ahead.

“Having Wigan North Western as the gateway to HS2 will mean Wigan town centre receives an instant boost as a place to attract investment and as a desirable location for businesses to locate to.

“We will be able to transport people quickly to the cities in the south and welcome business quickly to Wigan.

“We will use HS2 as a catalyst for the regeneration of our town centre including plans for greater connection between our two town centre stations.

“There will also be great job opportunities for our residents in the various stages of design, delivery and operation of the new rail line as well as for local businesses to be involved in the supply chain.

“I welcome the government’s pledge today to get the new line built as quickly as possible. Avoiding any further delays will support the economies of Wigan, Greater Manchester and the whole of the North.”

It is estimated the HS2 extension will be completed by 2033.

There was similar optimism across Greater Manchester, reflected by comments from GM Chamber of Commerce.

Its marketing and policy director Chris Fletcher said: “We welcome the announcement regarding HS2 both from the point of view of securing and generating jobs with the awarding of contracts for Phase One, and final confirmation of the route north of Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds.

“With every announcement, the whole project becomes more tangible as a way of offering the solution to the UK’s transport capacity problem.

“For once, instead of planning to make adequate years of under investment, successive governments and Transport Secretaries have planned for the future and outlined for huge areas of the UK what will be needed to make sure we can continue to grow our businesses, economy and generate new jobs.”

Adrian Kemp, director at professional services and engineering consultancy WSP in Manchester, said: “Yesterday’s unveiling of the second phase of the HS2 route is a signal of confidence for the North and reassurance from central Government that the key messages of the Rebalancing Britain report (from HS2 to a national transport strategy) are still high on their agenda.

“Not only will the region benefit from better connections to London, we will see major economic gains from high-speed links between key northern cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield, and beyond into the East Midlands.

“The announcement will strengthen the Britain’s future as a knowledge-based economy with enhanced connectivity providing access to human capital, support the creation of thousands of skilled jobs and be the catalyst for inward investment.

“Looking even further ahead, once future plans to extend the route through to Edinburgh and Glasgow are realised, it will also ensure that the UK finally has a high-speed rail infrastructure to rival those on a global platform.”