New research flags up capacity-releasing benefits of HS2

Transport chiefs in the West Midlands have said HS2 would free up enough space on Britain’s existing railway network to improve rail services for 73 stations across the country.

Sub-national transport body Midlands Connect has told the Oakervee review, the independent panel which charged with analysing the £88bn project, that 35 West Midlands stations on the existing rail network will benefit from improved passenger services as a direct result of the capacity released by HS2, including 33 stations not expected to receive direct HS2 services.

It says that, in the West Midlands, HS2’s “capacity-releasing effects” on the conventional network mean that commuters on the Wolverhampton to Birmingham, Shrewsbury to Birmingham and Coventry to Birmingham corridors would benefit from more frequent, less-crowded trains while Telford, Wellington and Shrewsbury could gain a direct, regular service to and from London.

Additional capacity will allow for new direct trains to and from Coventry and Birmingham International stations via Derby, Newcastle, Sheffield and York, while Leamington, Warwick, Nuneaton, Stafford, Kenilworth and Tamworth will see enhanced services.

HS2 trains will also be able to carry 576,000 people per day, reducing overcrowding on the existing network, the analysis said.

These benefits would be felt in 73 villages, towns and cities across the country, including 54 that won’t receive direct HS2 services.

The report said: “HS2 underpins transformational regional rail plans Midlands Engine Rail and Northern Powerhouse Rail, both of which require the released capacity and new infrastructure it provides. Neither would be wholly technically or financially feasible should HS2 be cancelled.”

In August, the Government launched a review into the cost-effectiveness of HS2.

The study will examine whether the transformational rail project should go ahead, either in its current form or at all.

The review, led by the former Crossrail chairman Douglas Oakervee, will look at how much the link will cost as well as deliverability and scope and report back to the Government in the autumn.
Sir John Peace, chair of Midlands Connect and Midlands Engine said:

“The benefits of HS2 will be felt by millions of people across the UK, including passengers that never set foot on a high speed train. Regional and local rail services are in desperate need of improvement and it’s time we face facts, without the space and flexibility created by HS2, the transformational change needed is not possible.

“It is the capacity released by the line – not just its speed – that will give the whole network a desperately needed overhaul. We haven’t built a new inter-city railway north of London in a century – piecemeal interventions will do no more than paper over the cracks of an overloaded, tired network. Left unchanged, these deficiencies will stifle growth and prosperity for decades to come. Our message to Government is clear; commit to HS2, commit to the regions you serve and give us a transport network fit for the future.”

Steve Hollis, chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority HS2 Growth Delivery Board, said: “We’re already experiencing the economic uplift of HS2 in the West Midlands – which has helped to attract significant inward investment and create thousands of new jobs. It is essential that the project goes ahead in its entirety so these benefits are spread across the whole region, and across the UK.

“It’s clear that the positive impact of HS2 has been consistently underestimated; locations right across the West Midlands will be better connected once it is built, due to the space it creates on our conventional railway and the significant infrastructure improvements it has triggered. HS2 will be a huge boost to business, commuters, students and visitors alike.”