HS2 on right track says transport secretary

THE full Y network for the HS2 high speed rail scheme will go ahead as planned,  while £13bn will be pumped into the North in the next five years, the Transport Secretary has said.

Patrick McLoughlin said the election result had been a massive vote of confidence for the HS2 scheme and work on the connection between Birmingham and London will start in 2017 with the connections to Manchester and Leeds set to follow, possibly sooner than previously thought.

In a keynote speech in Leeds, Mr McLoughlin said the scheme was vital in helping to rebalance the UK economy away from London.

The Transport Secretary also confirmed work was well under way on developing plans for high-speed east-west rail links.

He said that £13bn of government funding would be invested to transform transport infrastructure in the north over the next five years – better connecting the region so that northern towns and cities could pool their strengths and create a single economy.

He said that by the autumn, Transport for the North (TfN) – the body established by the government to work with it on delivering a Northern Transport Strategy – would have a new independent chair to speak on behalf of the north with one voice on delivering improved train and bus services, rolling out smart ticketing, looking after passengers, reducing road congestion and speeding up links to ports and airports.

The HS2 hybrid Bill committee will restart Parliamentary scrutiny of the bill for phase one – between London and Birmingham – shortly.

The government will announce the way forward for Phase Two from Birmingham to Leeds and to Manchester, later this year.

The government said that during the current Parliament it would also make significant strides in getting HS2 to the north sooner, in order to maximise the benefits of the important scheme, which has the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs.

Mr McLoughlin said: “The General Election result was a massive vote of confidence in favour of HS2.

“So the argument has been won. HS2 will be built, the full ‘Y’ network, from London to Birmingham and Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds, with construction starting in just two years.

“This is the best opportunity in well over a century to level the playing field between north and south. Not by dragging London down, but by firing up the rest of the country – the East and West Midlands and the new Northern Powerhouse – with transport connections that match the very best in Europe.”

Cheshire East Council has welcomed Mr McLoughlin’s speech, and his statement that Crewe could become the first northern hub for HS2 before the 250mph service continues to Manchester to form a new super-fast link across the Pennines.

McLoughlin said : “I want to see if we can bring HS2 to Crewe faster than planned, subject to further analysis and a decision on the preferred route.”

Cheshire East Council leader Cllr Michael Jones said: “This is fantastic news and a real game changer – not just for Crewe and Cheshire East, but for Stoke, North Staffordshire and the whole region.

“The benefits to Crewe and the surrounding area would be massive in terms of jobs and the economy – but we want to share the growth and benefits with our neighbours.”

Around 64,000 jobs are forecast to be created if the high-speed project arrives at Crewe, where there will be a boost to demand for homes and skilled workers.