Government announces changes to route of HS2
THE Government has unveiled its preferred route for the new £17bn high speed rail link between London and Birmingham.
As expected, the announcement by Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond contains a number of amendments to the route originally proposed by the previous Labour Government.
The changes have been made to appease opponents of the scheme, who have been critical of the impact the new line will have in Tory heartlands along the route corridor.
In a speech to the Commons, Mr Hammond said: “I have reached the conclusion, as the previous administration did, that the route option recommended in March represents the most appropriate general alignment for the High Speed Railway between London and the West Midlands.
“Significant amendments have been made to both the vertical and horizontal alignment, and to the proposed mitigation measures. In total, around 50% of the preferred route proposal published in March has been amended in some respect.”
Deeper cuttings and more tunnels will be incorporated into the design to minimise the impact of the new track.
A public consultation on the new route will begin early in the New Year.
However, while announcing the changes, Mr Hammond said he still recognised the new link had an important role to play in economic regeneration.
“To deliver economic growth and carbon reduction we must provide attractive alternatives to short-haul aviation, while addressing the issue of scarce rail capacity between the city centres. Network Rail has calculated that by 2024 the West Coast Main Line will effectively be full, with no further enhancements that could reasonably be made to meet future demand.
“The Government believes that the best long-term solution to these challenges is the development of a national high-speed rail network. Our proposed strategy is for a Y-shaped network, to be delivered in two phases: the first a line from London to the West Midlands, and the second the onward legs to Manchester and Leeds with connections to points further north via the East and West coast mainlines.”
The new line will slash journey times between Birmingham and London to 49 minutes – potentially less for non-stopping trains, while the eventual journey times to Leeds could be 65 minutes.
The released capacity on the West Coast main Line would improve commuter services from places like Coventry and Milton Keynes.
Along with the opening of the Manchester and Leeds routes, Mr Hammond said he was also proposing a spur line to Heathrow. However this, together with the connections to the North East and North West are unlikely to be open until the 2030s.
“The Government believes the construction of a high speed rail network will support economic growth and the rebalancing of the UK economy.
“It would allow the economies of the Midlands and the North to benefit much more directly from the economic engine of London, tackling the North-South divide more effectively than half a century of regional policy has done, expanding labour markets and bringing our major conurbations closer together,” he said.
