High Speed 2
Encyclopedia
High Speed 2 is a proposed high-speed railway
between London
and the Midlands
, the North of England
, and potentially at a later stage the central belt
of Scotland
. The project is being developed by High Speed Two Ltd, a company established by the British government. The route would take the form of a "Y", with a trunk from London to Birmingham
, and then two spurs, one to Manchester
, and the other to Leeds
via the East Midlands
. It would be built in stages, with the London to Birmingham section being the first stage. There would be no intermediate calling points between London and the West Midlands.
High-speed rail is supported in principle by the three main UK political parties; there is, however, debate about which cities should be served, and on the environmental performance and impact of high-speed rail. There are also deep disagreements among transport professionals and expert commentators as to whether this scheme should be given priority, whether it is affordable, whether its economics add up, and whether its contribution to reducing carbon emissions by the transport sector is as claimed.
If the HS2 plan is approved, construction could begin in 2017 with the first trains by 2025. At present, the only high-speed route in Britain is High Speed 1 (the Channel Tunnel Rail Link).
The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government
formed in May 2010 stated in its initial programme for government its commitment to creating a high-speed rail network.
.
established a company, High Speed Two Limited (HS2 Ltd), chaired by Sir David Rowlands
, to examine the case for a new British high-speed line and present a potential route between London and the West Midlands. The government report suggested that ultimately the line could be extended to reach Scotland.
Drawing on consultations carried out for the Department for Transport
(DfT) and Network Rail
, HS2 Ltd would provide advice on options for a Heathrow International interchange station, access to central London, connectivity with HS1 and the existing rail network, and financing and construction, and report to government on the first stage by the end of 2009.
In August 2009, Network Rail
published its own study independently of HS2's work, outlining somewhat different proposals for the expansion of the railway network which included a new high-speed rail line between London and Glasgow/Edinburgh, following a route through the West Midlands and the North-West of England.
For the HS2 report, a route was investigated to an accuracy of 0.5 metres (18 in). In December 2009, HS2 handed its report to the government. The study investigated the possibility of links to Heathrow Airport and connections with Crossrail
, the Great Western Main Line
, and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1).
On 11 March 2010, the High Speed 2 report and supporting studies were published, together with the government's command paper
on high-speed rail.
, formed in May 2010, has begun a review of HS2 plans inherited from the previous government. The Conservative Party
, whilst in Opposition, backed the idea of a high-speed terminus at with a direct link to Heathrow Airport and has a policy to connect London
, Manchester
, Leeds
and Birmingham
with Heathrow by high-speed rail with construction starting in 2015. In March 2010 Theresa Villiers
stated "The idea that some kind of Wormwood Scrubs
International station is the best rail solution for Heathrow is just not credible".
The Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond
, asked Lord Mawhinney, a former Conservative Transport Secretary, to conduct an urgent review of the proposed route. The coalition government wished the high-speed line to be routed via Heathrow Airport, an idea rejected in the most recent proposal published by HS2 Ltd.
Lord Mawhinney's conclusions contradicted Ms Villiers' view and Conservative policy in opposition, stating that HS2 should not go to Heathrow Airport unless and until it reaches beyond Birmingham. He stated that Heathrow should be served, via a loop, only when the line reaches the northern regions of England. Routeing the line only via Heathrow would add seven minutes to the journey time of all services.
In December 2008 an article in The Economist
noted the increasing political popularity of high-speed rail in Britain as a solution to transport congestion, and as an alternative to unpopular schemes such as road-tolls and runway expansion, but concluded that its future would depend on it being commercially viable. In November 2010, Philip Hammond rejected this idea, stating that government support for HS2 did not require it to be financially viable:
under the previous government, with a number of alterations designed to minimise the visual, noise, and other environmental impacts of the line. In a statement to Parliament, the Secretary of State confirmed that the first phase of construction would include a high-speed line from London to Birmingham as well as a connection to High Speed 1. High-speed lines north of the West Midlands would be built in later stages, and a link to Heathrow Airport would be initially provided by means of a connection at Old Oak Common
, with a high-speed link to the airport to be added later. The high-speed line would connect to the existing network, allowing through trains from London to northern destinations.
west of London , then along the New North Main Line
(Acton-Northolt Line) past West Ruislip and alongside the Chiltern Main Line
with a four-kilometre viaduct over the Grand Union Canal
and River Colne
, and then from the M25 to Amersham
in a new 9.6 kilometres (6 mi) tunnel. After emerging from the tunnel, the line would run parallel to the existing A413 road and London - Aylesbury line
corridor, through the 47 kilometres (29.2 mi) wide Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
, passing close by Great Missenden
to the East, alongside Wendover
immediately to the west, then on to Aylesbury
. After Aylesbury, the line would run alongside the Aylesbury to Verney Junction
line, joining it north of Quainton Road
and then striking out to the north-west across open countryside through North Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, South Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire. A number of alignments have been studied, and in September 2010 HS2 Ltd set out recommendations for altering the course at certain locations.
In December 2010 the Transport Secretary announced several amendments to the line of route aimed at mitigating vibration, noise or visual impact. These changes include, at Primrose Hill
, north London, moving the tunnel 100m further north, and in west London reducing the width of the "Northolt
Corridor". It is proposed to lower the alignment and create a 900m "green tunnel" in Buckinghamshire at South Heath. At nearby Amersham
where two footpaths would also be otherwise severed, at Chipping Warden
, Northamptonshire and Burton Green
, Warwickshire, "green bridge
s" would be constructed. Elsewhere, the route alignment would be moved away from the settlements of Brackley
, Northamptonshire, Ladbroke
and Stoneleigh
in Warwickshire and Lichfield
in southern Staffordshire, and also from the Grade I listed buildings, Hartwell House and Edgcote House, in Northamptonshire.
had stated that, if elected to government, it would go forward with a high-speed line connecting London to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, with a long-term aim of linking to Scotland, as well as other English cities.
Consultants Arup
had previously suggested in Heathrow Hub Arup Submission to HS2 that a 200 acres (80.9 ha) site at Iver, north-east of the intersection of the M25 and M4, could house a railway station of 12 or more platforms, as well as a coach and bus station and an airport terminal. Under this proposal, the high-speed line would then follow a different route to Birmingham, running parallel to existing motorways and railways as with HS1 in Kent. Arup's proposal was supported by the Conservatives in their 2009 policy paper, which envisaged connections to cities on the Great Western main line (Bristol and Cardiff) as well as high-speed connections both to the new high-speed line to the north and to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
and continental Europe.
According to Lord Mawhinney's report, the Heathrow station should be directly beneath station (not at Iver
, see ) and the London terminus for HS2 should be at , not Euston. The "Heathrow Hub" plan was initially supported by the Conservative Party but did not form part of the final consultation plan.
In December 2010 it was announced that a high-speed connection with Heathrow Airport would be built as part of the second phase of the project, and that until then connections would be made at Old Oak Common
, where High Speed 2 would have an interchange station with the Heathrow Express
and Crossrail
.
and Leeds
after Birmingham.
The route to the West Midlands
would be the first stage of a line to Scotland, and passengers travelling to or from Scotland would be able to use through trains with a saving of 45 minutes from day one. If approved, construction would begin in 2017, with the first trains running by 2025.
stated:
The engineering study conducted by Arup
for HS2 Ltd costed a "classic speed" GC loading gauge
direct rail link at £458m (single track) or £812m (double track). The connection would be from Old Oak Common to the High Speed 1 St Pancras portal, via tunnel and the North London Line
. A double-track high-speed connection would cost £3.6bn.
The High Speed 2 report recommended that, if a direct rail link is built, it should be the classic-speed, double-track option.
In December 2010 it was announced that a connection would be made with High Speed 1 as part of the first phase of construction using a tunnel between Old Oak Common
and Chalk Farm
on the North London Line
, and then using existing lines to connect north of St Pancras. The proposed connection would be built to GC loading gauge and would not be suitable for high-speed running.
.
Because it would serve only a very small subset of destinations, use of existing 'classic' services would be an element of many High Speed 2 journeys.
However, the review by former Conservative Transport Secretary Lord Mawhinney recommended that High Speed 2 should terminate at Old Oak Common, not Euston. He questioned the sense of having HS2 terminate at Euston and High Speed 1 at St Pancras, with no direct through running connection between them however there is such a link proposed and a rapid transport link to complement the five tube lines running between the stations.
" near Old Oak Common
between Paddington
and stations, with connections for Crossrail
, Heathrow Express
and services on the Great Western Main Line
to Heathrow Airport
, Reading
, South West England
and South Wales
. The station might also have connections with London Overground
and Southern
services on the North London
and West London Line
s and also with London Underground
's Central Line
.
Lord Mawhinney recommended that High Speed 2 should terminate at Old Oak Common because of its good connections and in order to save the cost of tunnelling to Euston.
from the National Exhibition Centre
, Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International Station
. The interchange would be connected by a people mover
to the other sites; the AirRail Link
people mover already operates between Birmingham International station and the airport.
According to Birmingham Airport's chief executive Paul Kehoe, HS2 is a key element in increasing the number of flights using the airport, and patronage by inhabitants of London and the South-East
, as the high-speed link would reduce travelling times to Birmingham from London to under 40mins.
and as "Birmingham Fazeley Street" in the report produced by High Speed 2 Ltd, would be built on land between Moor Street Queensway
and the site of the old Curzon Street Station. It would be reached via a spur line from a triangular junction with the "main" HS2 trunk at Coleshill
.
Development plans for the Eastside
district and a new campus for Birmingham City University
continued to be progressed, though incompatible with HS2, because the government did not inform them of the proposed route.
As Curzon Street/Fazeley Street terminus would not receive other services, local or regional rail passengers arriving in Birmingham would need to transfer from New Street, Snow Hill or Moor Street stations. The direct pedestrian access between the HS2 terminal site and New Street, the city's main station, entails traversing the Smallbrook Queensway
underpass under the Bull Ring, Birmingham shopping centre or to create a high and low level link between the existing Moor Street station and the new Curzon Street station with a possible loop line between the two levels to allow onward travel to Kidderminster and Worcester.
station,In British usage, a parkway is station with car parking, remote from the location it is intended to serve and not be sited in Nottingham
, Leicester
or Derby
which it would serve. Business leaders in the area supported high-speed rail coming to the East Midlands but were concerned that a parkway station instead of centrally located city stations would result in no overall net benefit in journey times.
(as was High Speed 1) and conforming to European Union technical standards for interoperability for high-speed rail (EU Directive 96/48/EC). HS2 Ltd's report assumed a GC structure gauge for passenger capacity estimations, with a maximum design speed of 250 miles per hour (111.8 m/s). Initially, trains would run at a maximum 360 kilometres per hour (223.7 mph).
Freight trains could use the line only within a limited night-time window, due to their relatively low speed. The new line would also release capacity for freight on the existing West Coast Main Line
and Midland Main Line
.
Signalling would be a level of the European Rail Traffic Management System
using in-cab signalling, to resolve the visibility issues associated with line-side signals at speeds over 200 kilometres per hour (124.3 mph)
Platform height will be 760 millimetres (29.9 in).
The report also considered the possibility of gauge enhancement on non-high-speed lines as an alternative to 'classic compatible' trains, to allow European-gauge trains to run beyond the high-speed network.
Both types would have a maximum speed of at least 360 kilometres per hour (223.7 mph) and length of at least 200 metres (656.2 ft). Two units could be joined together for a 400 metres (1,312.3 ft) train, but only platforms specially built or rebuilt for the high-speed line would be able to accommodate such long trains.
HS2 Ltd stated that, because of their non-standard nature, the classic-compatible trains were expected to be more expensive.
/Calvert
in Buckinghamshire. The feasibility of using the MoD site at Bicester as the IMD was also considered. Six such potential sites were shortlisted and rated against the specification. The preferred site, called 'Thame Road' (at Claydon Junction) and a fall-back site, 'Great Pond' were announced in December 2010. The nearby Calvert Waste Plant has also been identified for heat and power generation.
while the cost for the entire Y-shaped 335 mile network is £30 billion.
Upgrading existing lines from London to Birmingham instead of building the new HS2 will cost more (£20bn) and will provide only two-thirds the extra capacity of HS2 according to Lord Adonis.
, and detailed design, construction of the London-Birmingham section could begin in mid-2018. This is estimated to require six-and-a-half years, with a further year to finish testing. Reconstruction of Euston station and preparation of related infrastructure is expected to require the full length of the construction period to complete. Other major construction elements include the Old Oak Common and Birmingham stations (over four years), and the tunnelling work (Old Oak to Euston tunnel, tunnels at Little Missenden, Ufton Wood, Chalfont and Amersham), all estimated to require over four years for construction. Opening would be at the end of 2025.
The command paper suggested that opening to Birmingham should be possible by the end of 2026. The timetable included the additional work of preparing the routes to Leeds and Manchester, for approval by Parliament in the hybrid bill. The initial Y-shaped network was to be presented in one bill in an attempt to simplify planning and minimise the parliamentary time required for the bill.
completed in 2008 (see West Coast Main Line#Modernisation by Network Rail) and the expected implementation of plans for longer trains and cab signalling on that route, the DfT expected the WCML to have insufficient capacity south of Rugby
sometime around 2025 without a substantial increase in capacity. However, a member of the 'HS2 Action Alliance' has cricised the Department of Transport's demand forecasts as being too high, as well as having other shortcomings in the assessment methodology. The WCML Rugby Euston section was already operating at up to 80% of capacity in the 2009 morning peak. Additionally, railway passenger numbers have been growing significantly in recent years.
The Government's transport strategy identified fourteen strategic national transport corridors in England, of which the London West Midlands
North West England
route is the "single most important and heavily used, presenting both the greatest challenges in terms of future capacity and the greatest opportunities to promote a shift of passenger and freight traffic from road to rail".
In launching the project, the DfT announced that the new High Speed 2 line between London and the West Midlands would follow a different alignment
from that of the existing WCML, rejecting the option of further upgrading or building new tracks alongside the existing WCML as being too costly and disruptive, and because the existing Victorian-era WCML alignment was not suitable for very high speeds.
The new line "would improve rail services from London to cities in the North of England and Scotland, and the suggested approach route west of London improves passenger transport links to Heathrow Airport". Additionally, if the new line were connected to the Great Western Main Line
(GWML) and Crossrail
it would provide links with East and West London, and the Thames Valley.
The Government expects that over the next 30 years, HS2 will cost £32 billion to build, generate £27 billion in fares and provide £43.7 billion of economic benefits.
(a research company).
The Scottish Government's policy is to discuss with the UK Government the development of a Scottish high-speed rail link connecting to London and continental Europe, aiming to reduced journey times to London from Scotland to under 3 hours.
Other supportive campaigns include The Campaign for HSR, led by Professor David Begg, which aims to canvas support from businesses across the UK to promote the case for the proposed high-speed rail link. The campaign currently has support from over 400 UK businesses.
Go-HS2 is a group comprising Centro, Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham Airport, and the NEC Group. Its objective is to promote the benefits that its members believe HS2 will bring to Birmingham and the West Midlands. It is also supported by the wider Passenger Transport Executives Group (PTEG) along with many urban councils in the north of England.
The HS2 proposals have been opposed by a number of local authorities along or adjacent to the route. Eighteen of these have joined together in a national campaign to actively challenge the HS2 scheme. The alliance is called '51m' as the local authorities contend that HS2 will cost each Parliamentary Constituency
£51 million. Constituent members of 51m are Buckinghamshire County Council
, Aylesbury Vale District Council, Chiltern District Council, South Bucks District Council
, Wycombe District Council, London Borough of Hillingdon
, Cherwell District Council, Lichfield District Council
, South Northants District Council
, Warwick District Council
, North Warwickshire Borough Council
, Warwickshire County Council, Stratford-on-Avon District Council, Leicestershire County Council
, Harborough District Council
, Three Rivers District Council
, Oxfordshire County Council
, and Coventry City Council. The other councils that have declared their opposition are Camden Borough Council, Northamptonshire and Staffordshire County Councils.
Alan Francis, Green Party
transport speaker, outlined the party's support for high-speed rail in principle in terms of benefits to capacity, reduced journey times and potential for reduced carbon emissions, but recommended a line restricted to 300 kilometres per hour (186.4 mph) to 320 kilometres per hour (198.8 mph) which would enable it to use existing transport corridors to a greater extent and increase efficiency; the Green Party voted to oppose the proposed HS2 plans at their Spring 2011 conference, on environmental and economic grounds; the anti-taxation pressure group Taxpayers Alliance have also opposed HS2 on similar grounds, describing the project as a white elephant
.
The New Economics Foundation
(A think tank promoting environmentalism, localism and anti-capitalism) published a formal response to the public consultation on 5 August 2011 Response to the HS2 Consultation which concludes that 'As it stands, the Government’s case for a high speed rail link between London and northern cities (HS2) is incomplete and therefore cannot be used as a reliable basis for a decision on the project. Too much has been omitted from the analysis for it to be robust and persuasive... The limitations of the HS2 appraisal are as follows:
1. Important material impacts of HS2 are excluded from the analysis
2. By separating rhetoric on objectives from the appraisal, it is not possible to test the claims that are being made for HS2 which has implications for accountability
3. Appraisal is not rooted in stakeholder engagement
4. Evaluation of potential alternatives is incomplete
5. Time savings are over-valued and over-emphasised
6. There are significant inconsistencies with existing rail capacity and future demand figures
7. The economic case is dependent on potentially optimistic economic growth
8. The opportunity cost of HS2 investment is poorly evaluated
9. Sensitivity testing is incomplete
10. The carbon case for HS2 has not been made.
We call on the Government to postpone a decision on HS2, and to commission a full-scale independent
and impartial analysis of the proposal before proceeding further.'
, Friends of the Earth
, and the Campaign for Better Transport. The CPRE stated that HS2 should not run at 'ultra high speeds', claiming that lower speeds would increase journey times only slightly, while allowing the line to run along existing motorway and railway corridors, reducing intrusion. The railway campaigning organisation Railfuture, which supports high speed rail in principle, indicated in its submission to the Transport Select Committee Inquiry into HS2 that it sees no benefit in trains running at up to 400 kilometres per hour (248.5 mph) and therefore is not in favour of the current proposal and route, and advises alternatives are investigated.
Arup, who did the engineering work to identify routes for HS2 Ltd., have opposed the chosen route for HS2 (route 3) calling it "deeply flawed" They have stated the route should link to Heathrow and then follow the M40 motorway and Chiltern railway line, improving the business case, lowering construction costs and creating less impact on the countryside.
The Wildlife Trusts have criticised the proposals, stating that the former Government's policy on High Speed Rail (March 2010) underestimated the effect on wildlife habitats (with 4 SSSIs and over 50 of other types of nature site affected), as well as noting that the proposals had not comprehensively shown any significant effect on transport carbon emissions and questioning the economic benefits of a line. The trusts called for additional research to be done on the effects of a high-speed line.
The Federation of Small Businesses
expressed scepticism over the need for high-speed rail, stating that roads expenditure was more useful for its members, and Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce opined that HS2 offered no benefit to its area.
On 8 November 2011 the independent Commons Transport Committee which had been hearing evidence from supporters and opponents released its findings, reporting 'A good case' and 'a new era of inter-urban travel in Britain'. The Committee's endorsement came with some caveats, principally that HSR beyond Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds should be firmly committed too, that investment in rail elsewhere should not suffer and that the public debate had failed to address the facts and resorted to name calling and accusations of nimbyism. While questioning some data it found a good economic case for the project bringing more benefits than a conventional rail line, that the noise impact would be less than feared and that while it would not reduce carbon dioxide emmissions they would be smaller than under further motorway or air traffic expansion and that the business case for diverting via Heathrow had not been made. The reports findings were welcomed by the Association of Train Operating Companies, Campaign for Better Transport, Countryside Alliance and Campaign to Protect Rural England. Action Groups Against High Speed Two (AGHAST) condemned the authors as a 'partisan committee' though they welcomed some of the findings saying it poked holes in the Governments arguments.
which is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Government announced in January 2011 that £2m would be spent planting trees along sections of the route to mitigate the visual impact of HS2.
and West Ruislip, a number of demolitions at Ealing, around 50 in Birmingham
, and the remainder in pockets along the route. This includes nine Grade II listed buildings and possibly a Grade II* listed farmhouse at Hampton in Arden.
In Birmingham
, the new Curzon Gate
student residence would have to be demolished and Birmingham City University
wanted a £30 million refund after the plans were revealed.
, MP for Aylesbury
, raised concerns that the route could damage the 47 kilometres (29.2 mi)-wide Chiltern Hills
area of outstanding natural beauty
, the Colne
valley regional park on the outskirts of London, and other areas of green belt
.
HS2's preferred route would pass through the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire
via the Misbourne Valley
. Initially through a tunnel beneath Chalfont St Giles
emerging just after Amersham
, then past Wendover
and Stoke Mandeville
. Its proposals also include another re-alignment of more than 1 kilometres (1,093.6 yd) of the River Tame, and construction of a 635 metres (694.4 yd)-long viaduct and a cutting through ancient woodland at a nature reserve
at Park Hall on the edge of Birmingham.
commissioned a report, Estimated Carbon Impact of a New North South Line, from Booz Allen Hamilton
to investigate the likely overall carbon impacts associated with the construction and operation of a new rail line to either Manchester or Scotland including any expected modal transport shifts, and the comparison with the case in which no new high-speed lines were built. The report concluded that there were no carbon benefits in building a new line from London to Manchester. The additional carbon from a new rail route would be larger than the case in which no new line was built.
The High Speed Rail Command paper published in March 2010 stated that in the worse case with no shift from aviation to rail and no reduction in carbon intensity of electricity generation, the scheme would result in an increase of emissions by 440,000 tonnes per year. (~0.3% of domestics greenhouse transport emissions in 2008).
The Eddington Report cautioned against the common argument of modal shift from air to train as a carbon emissions benefit to high-speed rail - since only 1.2% of UK carbon emissions are due to domestic commercial aviation, and that rail transportation energy efficiency is reduced as speed increases.
The Government White Paper Delivering a Sustainable Railway states trains that travel at a speed of 350 kilometres per hour (217.5 mph) uses 90% more energy than at 200 kilometres per hour (124.3 mph); which results in carbon emissions for a London to Edinburgh journey of 14 kg per passenger for high speed rail compared to 7 kg per passenger for conventional rail. Air travel uses 26 kg per passenger for the same journey. The paper questioned the value for money of high speed rail as a method of reducing carbon emissions, but noted that with a switch to carbon free or neutral energy production the case becomes much more favourable.
The EHS was intended to run from about August 2010, until the route is chosen (originally estimated around the end of 2011). Homeowners may apply to the Secretary of State to buy their home, at its full market value (assuming no HS2), if all of the following criteria are met:
Decisions on individual applications will by made by a panel of experts.
The results of the consultations are not yet known. But Alison Munro, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, has stated that they are also looking at other options, including property bonds.
The statutory blight regime would apply to any route confirmed for a new high-speed line following the public consultations, now due to commence in 2011.
HS2 Action Alliance's alternative compensation solution for property blight was presented to DfT/HS2 Ltd and Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond, in response to the consultation on the EHS. The Alliance also presented DfT and HS2 Ltd with a pilot study on property blight.
High-speed rail in the United Kingdom
The international definition of high-speed rail embraces new lines with a top speed of at least and existing lines with a top speed of around...
between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
, the North of England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
, and potentially at a later stage the central belt
Central Belt
The Central Belt of Scotland is a common term used to describe the area of highest population density within Scotland. Despite the name, it is not geographically central but is nevertheless situated at the 'waist' of Scotland on a conventional map and the term 'central' is used in many local...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The project is being developed by High Speed Two Ltd, a company established by the British government. The route would take the form of a "Y", with a trunk from London to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, and then two spurs, one to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, and the other to Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
via the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
. It would be built in stages, with the London to Birmingham section being the first stage. There would be no intermediate calling points between London and the West Midlands.
High-speed rail is supported in principle by the three main UK political parties; there is, however, debate about which cities should be served, and on the environmental performance and impact of high-speed rail. There are also deep disagreements among transport professionals and expert commentators as to whether this scheme should be given priority, whether it is affordable, whether its economics add up, and whether its contribution to reducing carbon emissions by the transport sector is as claimed.
If the HS2 plan is approved, construction could begin in 2017 with the first trains by 2025. At present, the only high-speed route in Britain is High Speed 1 (the Channel Tunnel Rail Link).
The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government
Cameron Ministry
David Cameron is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government after the resignation as Prime Minister of Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010. Leading a coalition government formed by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, the coalition...
formed in May 2010 stated in its initial programme for government its commitment to creating a high-speed rail network.
History
The Department for Transport published a document in January 2009 giving details of various options for new-build high-speed rail and concluded that the most appropriate initial route for a new line was from London to the West MidlandsWest Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
.
High Speed Two Limited
In January 2009, the then Labour governmentBrown Ministry
Gordon Brown took office as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007 and formed his Government. It ended, upon his resignation, on 11 May 2010. In his inaugural cabinet Brown appointed the UKs first female Home Secretary Jacqui Smith....
established a company, High Speed Two Limited (HS2 Ltd), chaired by Sir David Rowlands
David Rowlands (civil servant)
Sir David Rowlands, , was a British civil servant, who rose to the rank ofPermanent Secretary to the Department for Transport....
, to examine the case for a new British high-speed line and present a potential route between London and the West Midlands. The government report suggested that ultimately the line could be extended to reach Scotland.
Drawing on consultations carried out for the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
(DfT) and Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
, HS2 Ltd would provide advice on options for a Heathrow International interchange station, access to central London, connectivity with HS1 and the existing rail network, and financing and construction, and report to government on the first stage by the end of 2009.
In August 2009, Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
published its own study independently of HS2's work, outlining somewhat different proposals for the expansion of the railway network which included a new high-speed rail line between London and Glasgow/Edinburgh, following a route through the West Midlands and the North-West of England.
For the HS2 report, a route was investigated to an accuracy of 0.5 metres (18 in). In December 2009, HS2 handed its report to the government. The study investigated the possibility of links to Heathrow Airport and connections with Crossrail
Crossrail
Crossrail is a project to build a major new railway link under central London. The name refers to the first of two routes which are the responsibility of Crossrail Ltd. It is based on an entirely new east-west tunnel with a central section from to Liverpool Street station...
, the Great Western Main Line
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
, and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1).
On 11 March 2010, the High Speed 2 report and supporting studies were published, together with the government's command paper
Command paper
A command paper is a document issued by the British government and presented to Parliament. White papers, green papers, treaties, reports from Royal Commissions and various government bodies can all be released as command papers, so-called because they are presented to Parliament formally 'By Her...
on high-speed rail.
Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalition government review
The Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalitionCameron Ministry
David Cameron is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government after the resignation as Prime Minister of Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010. Leading a coalition government formed by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, the coalition...
, formed in May 2010, has begun a review of HS2 plans inherited from the previous government. The Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, whilst in Opposition, backed the idea of a high-speed terminus at with a direct link to Heathrow Airport and has a policy to connect London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
with Heathrow by high-speed rail with construction starting in 2015. In March 2010 Theresa Villiers
Theresa Villiers
Theresa Anne Villiers is a British Conservative Party politician. She is the Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet and the Minister of State for Transport.She was appointed as a Privy Counsellor on 9 June 2010.-Early life:...
stated "The idea that some kind of Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs, is an open space located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the Borough, at 80 ha , and one of the largest areas of common land in London...
International station is the best rail solution for Heathrow is just not credible".
The Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond
Philip Hammond
Philip Hammond MP is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the current Defence Secretary in the Coalition government led by David Cameron, having succeeded Liam Fox on 14 October 2011...
, asked Lord Mawhinney, a former Conservative Transport Secretary, to conduct an urgent review of the proposed route. The coalition government wished the high-speed line to be routed via Heathrow Airport, an idea rejected in the most recent proposal published by HS2 Ltd.
Lord Mawhinney's conclusions contradicted Ms Villiers' view and Conservative policy in opposition, stating that HS2 should not go to Heathrow Airport unless and until it reaches beyond Birmingham. He stated that Heathrow should be served, via a loop, only when the line reaches the northern regions of England. Routeing the line only via Heathrow would add seven minutes to the journey time of all services.
In December 2008 an article in The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
noted the increasing political popularity of high-speed rail in Britain as a solution to transport congestion, and as an alternative to unpopular schemes such as road-tolls and runway expansion, but concluded that its future would depend on it being commercially viable. In November 2010, Philip Hammond rejected this idea, stating that government support for HS2 did not require it to be financially viable:
If we used financial accounting we would never have any public spending, we would build nothing ... Financial accounting would strike a dagger through the whole case for public sector investment.
Public consultation
On 20 December 2010 the government published a slightly revised line of route to be put out for public consultation, based on a Y-shaped route from London to Birmingham with branches to Leeds and Manchester, as originally put forward by Lord Adonis as Secretary of State for TransportSecretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
under the previous government, with a number of alterations designed to minimise the visual, noise, and other environmental impacts of the line. In a statement to Parliament, the Secretary of State confirmed that the first phase of construction would include a high-speed line from London to Birmingham as well as a connection to High Speed 1. High-speed lines north of the West Midlands would be built in later stages, and a link to Heathrow Airport would be initially provided by means of a connection at Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common is an area of London between Harlesden and Acton known for its railway depots, particularly Old Oak Common TMD. Further south lies an open area, Wormwood Scrubs Park, and Wormwood Scrubs prison...
, with a high-speed link to the airport to be added later. The high-speed line would connect to the existing network, allowing through trains from London to northern destinations.
London to the West Midlands
As proposed in March 2010, the line would run from London , mainly in tunnel, to an interchange with CrossrailCrossrail
Crossrail is a project to build a major new railway link under central London. The name refers to the first of two routes which are the responsibility of Crossrail Ltd. It is based on an entirely new east-west tunnel with a central section from to Liverpool Street station...
west of London , then along the New North Main Line
New North Main Line
The New North Main Line or NNML is a currently little-used railway line about eleven miles long in north-west London.-History:It opened in 1903 as part of a joint project by the Great Central Railway and the Great Western Railway to improve their access from London to the midlands and north of...
(Acton-Northolt Line) past West Ruislip and alongside the Chiltern Main Line
Chiltern Main Line
The Chiltern Main Line is an inter-urban, regional and commuter railway, part of the British railway system. It links London and Birmingham on a 112-mile route via the towns of High Wycombe, Banbury, and Leamington Spa...
with a four-kilometre viaduct over the Grand Union Canal
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
and River Colne
River Colne, Hertfordshire
The Colne is a river in England which is a tributary of the River Thames. It flows mainly through Hertfordshire and forms the boundary between the South Bucks district of Buckinghamshire and the London Borough of Hillingdon...
, and then from the M25 to Amersham
Amersham
Amersham is a market town and civil parish within Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England, 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills. It is part of the London commuter belt....
in a new 9.6 kilometres (6 mi) tunnel. After emerging from the tunnel, the line would run parallel to the existing A413 road and London - Aylesbury line
London to Aylesbury Line
The London to Aylesbury Line is the main railway line between London and Aylesbury, going via the Chiltern Hills; it is operated by Chiltern Railways. The line includes the only route where National Rail trains use track that is utilized by London Underground services...
corridor, through the 47 kilometres (29.2 mi) wide Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
, passing close by Great Missenden
Great Missenden
Great Missenden is a large village in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover. It closely adjoins the villages of Little Missenden and Prestwood. The narrow High Street is bypassed by the main A413 London to...
to the East, alongside Wendover
Wendover
Wendover is a market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district...
immediately to the west, then on to Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
. After Aylesbury, the line would run alongside the Aylesbury to Verney Junction
Verney Junction
Verney Junction is a hamlet in the parish of Middle Claydon in north Buckinghamshire, England. It is on a disused railway line near Claydon House....
line, joining it north of Quainton Road
Quainton Road railway station
Quainton Road railway station was opened in 1868 in undeveloped countryside near Quainton, Buckinghamshire, from London. Built by the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway, it was the result of pressure from the 3rd Duke of Buckingham to route the railway near his home at Wotton House and to open a...
and then striking out to the north-west across open countryside through North Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, South Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire. A number of alignments have been studied, and in September 2010 HS2 Ltd set out recommendations for altering the course at certain locations.
In December 2010 the Transport Secretary announced several amendments to the line of route aimed at mitigating vibration, noise or visual impact. These changes include, at Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill is a hill of located on the north side of Regent's Park in London, England, and also the name for the surrounding district. The hill has a clear view of central London to the south-east, as well as Belsize Park and Hampstead to the north...
, north London, moving the tunnel 100m further north, and in west London reducing the width of the "Northolt
Northolt
Northolt is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, England. The town has London Underground and Network Rail stations and is on the A40 road...
Corridor". It is proposed to lower the alignment and create a 900m "green tunnel" in Buckinghamshire at South Heath. At nearby Amersham
Amersham
Amersham is a market town and civil parish within Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England, 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills. It is part of the London commuter belt....
where two footpaths would also be otherwise severed, at Chipping Warden
Chipping Warden
Chipping Warden is a village in Northamptonshire, England about northeast of the Oxfordshire town of Banbury. The parish is bounded to the east and south by the River Cherwell, to the west by the boundary with Oxfordshire and to the north by field boundaries....
, Northamptonshire and Burton Green
Burton Green
Burton Green is a village in Warwickshire, England, some southwest of Coventry and close to Kenilworth. It is mostly residential, surrounded by farmland and has a village hall, a primary school and a pub called the 'Peeping Tom'....
, Warwickshire, "green bridge
Wildlife crossing
Wildlife crossings are structures that allow animals to cross human-made barriers safely. Wildlife crossings may include: underpass tunnels, viaducts, and overpasses ; amphibian tunnels; fish ladders; tunnels and culverts ; green roofs .Wildlife crossings are a...
s" would be constructed. Elsewhere, the route alignment would be moved away from the settlements of Brackley
Brackley
Brackley is a town in south Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Oxford and miles form Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the intersecting trade routes between London, Birmingham and the English Midlands and between Cambridge and Oxford...
, Northamptonshire, Ladbroke
Ladbroke, Warwickshire
Ladbroke is a village and civil parish about south of Southam in Warwickshire.-Manor:The earliest known record of Ladbroke is from AD 998, when King Æthelred II granted lands at Southam, Ladbroke and Radbourne to Leofwine, Ealdorman of the Hwicce....
and Stoneleigh
Stoneleigh, Warwickshire
Stoneleigh is a small village in Warwickshire, England on the River Sowe, about 5 miles south of Coventry and 5 miles north of Leamington Spa. The village is situated about northeast of the confluence of the River Sowe and the River Avon.Stoneleigh does not have a public house...
in Warwickshire and Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
in southern Staffordshire, and also from the Grade I listed buildings, Hartwell House and Edgcote House, in Northamptonshire.
Heathrow access
While in opposition, the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
had stated that, if elected to government, it would go forward with a high-speed line connecting London to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, with a long-term aim of linking to Scotland, as well as other English cities.
Consultants Arup
Arup
Arup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
had previously suggested in Heathrow Hub Arup Submission to HS2 that a 200 acres (80.9 ha) site at Iver, north-east of the intersection of the M25 and M4, could house a railway station of 12 or more platforms, as well as a coach and bus station and an airport terminal. Under this proposal, the high-speed line would then follow a different route to Birmingham, running parallel to existing motorways and railways as with HS1 in Kent. Arup's proposal was supported by the Conservatives in their 2009 policy paper, which envisaged connections to cities on the Great Western main line (Bristol and Cardiff) as well as high-speed connections both to the new high-speed line to the north and to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
High Speed 1 , officially known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and originally as the Continental Main Line , is a high-speed railway line running from London through Kent to the British end of the Channel Tunnel.The line was built to carry international passenger traffic from the United Kingdom...
and continental Europe.
According to Lord Mawhinney's report, the Heathrow station should be directly beneath station (not at Iver
Iver
Iver is in the south-east corner of the English county of Buckinghamshire and it forms one of the largest civil parishes in the South Bucks district.Iver railway station is in Richings Park.-Etymology:...
, see ) and the London terminus for HS2 should be at , not Euston. The "Heathrow Hub" plan was initially supported by the Conservative Party but did not form part of the final consultation plan.
In December 2010 it was announced that a high-speed connection with Heathrow Airport would be built as part of the second phase of the project, and that until then connections would be made at Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common is an area of London between Harlesden and Acton known for its railway depots, particularly Old Oak Common TMD. Further south lies an open area, Wormwood Scrubs Park, and Wormwood Scrubs prison...
, where High Speed 2 would have an interchange station with the Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express is an airport rail link from London Heathrow Airport to London Paddington station in London operated by the Heathrow Express Operating Authority, a wholly owned subsidiary of BAA. It was opened by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998...
and Crossrail
Crossrail
Crossrail is a project to build a major new railway link under central London. The name refers to the first of two routes which are the responsibility of Crossrail Ltd. It is based on an entirely new east-west tunnel with a central section from to Liverpool Street station...
.
West Midlands to Manchester and Leeds
In October 2010 Transport Secretary Philip Hammond announced that the route preferred by the government was the so-called "Y" route with separate branches to ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
after Birmingham.
The route to the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
would be the first stage of a line to Scotland, and passengers travelling to or from Scotland would be able to use through trains with a saving of 45 minutes from day one. If approved, construction would begin in 2017, with the first trains running by 2025.
High Speed 1
The government command paperCommand paper
A command paper is a document issued by the British government and presented to Parliament. White papers, green papers, treaties, reports from Royal Commissions and various government bodies can all be released as command papers, so-called because they are presented to Parliament formally 'By Her...
stated:
... the new British high speed rail network should be connected to the wider European high speed rail network via High Speed One and the Channel TunnelChannel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
, subject to cost and value for money. This could be achieved through either or both of a dedicated rapid transport system linking Euston and St Pancras and a direct rail link to High Speed One.
The engineering study conducted by Arup
Arup
Arup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
for HS2 Ltd costed a "classic speed" GC loading gauge
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...
direct rail link at £458m (single track) or £812m (double track). The connection would be from Old Oak Common to the High Speed 1 St Pancras portal, via tunnel and the North London Line
North London Line
The North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
. A double-track high-speed connection would cost £3.6bn.
The High Speed 2 report recommended that, if a direct rail link is built, it should be the classic-speed, double-track option.
In December 2010 it was announced that a connection would be made with High Speed 1 as part of the first phase of construction using a tunnel between Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common is an area of London between Harlesden and Acton known for its railway depots, particularly Old Oak Common TMD. Further south lies an open area, Wormwood Scrubs Park, and Wormwood Scrubs prison...
and Chalk Farm
Chalk Farm
Chalk Farm is an area of north London, England. It lies directly to the north of Camden Town and its underground station is the closest tube station to the nearby, upmarket neighbourhood of Primrose Hill....
on the North London Line
North London Line
The North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
, and then using existing lines to connect north of St Pancras. The proposed connection would be built to GC loading gauge and would not be suitable for high-speed running.
West Coast Main Line in Staffordshire
HS2 would cross the West Coast Main Line just east of Lichfield Trent Valley station then join the Main Line about 3 kilometres to the north-west of LichfieldLichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
.
Journey times
The HS2 Ltd report gave journey times for some destinations, allowing a degree of 'before and after' comparison.Because it would serve only a very small subset of destinations, use of existing 'classic' services would be an element of many High Speed 2 journeys.
| London to/from... | Current timings on existing lines | Proposed (with HS2 completion to Birmingham) | Proposed (with HS2 completion to Manchester and Leeds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... |
1 hour 12 minutes (fastest) | 49 minutes | |
| Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... |
2 hours 8 minutes | 1 hour 40 minutes | 1 hour 20 minutes |
| Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880... |
2 hours 8 minutes | 1 hour 50 minutes | 1 hour 36 minutes |
| Leeds Leeds Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial... |
2 hours 20 minutes | 2 hours 20 minutes | 1 hour 20 minutes |
| Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne... |
3 hours 30 minutes | 3 hours 30 minutes | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... |
4 hours 30 minutes | 4 hours 30 minutes | 3 hours 30 minutes |
| Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... |
4 hours 31 minutes | 4 hours | 3 hours 30 minutes |
London to Birmingham
Central London
Under the March 2010 scheme, HS2 would start from a rebuilt London Euston. The station would be extended to the south and west with significant construction above. 24 platforms would serve High Speed and classic lines to the Midlands as well as the six underground lines (from Euston and which would be combined). The connection with Crossrail at Old Oak Common in West London is designed to mitigate the extra burden on Euston, although Euston too would see its underground station rebuilt and integrated with Euston Square. A rapid transit link between Euston and St Pancras might be provided and it is proposed to route the proposed Chelsea–Hackney line via Euston to cope with increased passenger demand.However, the review by former Conservative Transport Secretary Lord Mawhinney recommended that High Speed 2 should terminate at Old Oak Common, not Euston. He questioned the sense of having HS2 terminate at Euston and High Speed 1 at St Pancras, with no direct through running connection between them however there is such a link proposed and a rapid transport link to complement the five tube lines running between the stations.
West London
The March 2010 report proposed that all trains would stop at a west London "Crossrail interchangeOld Oak Common railway station
Old Oak Common railway station is a proposed railway station in west London, England, in the United Kingdom.The new station has been included as a part of the proposed High Speed 2 line from London Euston to Birmingham...
" near Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common is an area of London between Harlesden and Acton known for its railway depots, particularly Old Oak Common TMD. Further south lies an open area, Wormwood Scrubs Park, and Wormwood Scrubs prison...
between Paddington
Paddington station
Paddington railway station, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex.The site is a historic one, having served as the London terminus of the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the current mainline station dates...
and stations, with connections for Crossrail
Crossrail
Crossrail is a project to build a major new railway link under central London. The name refers to the first of two routes which are the responsibility of Crossrail Ltd. It is based on an entirely new east-west tunnel with a central section from to Liverpool Street station...
, Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express is an airport rail link from London Heathrow Airport to London Paddington station in London operated by the Heathrow Express Operating Authority, a wholly owned subsidiary of BAA. It was opened by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998...
and services on the Great Western Main Line
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
to Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
, Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, South West England
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
and South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. The station might also have connections with London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
and Southern
Southern (train operating company)
Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...
services on the North London
North London Line
The North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
and West London Line
West London Line
The West London Line is a short railway in inner West London which links lines at in the south to lines near Willesden Junction in the north. It has always been an important cross-London link especially for freight services...
s and also with London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
's Central Line
Central Line
The Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
.
Lord Mawhinney recommended that High Speed 2 should terminate at Old Oak Common because of its good connections and in order to save the cost of tunnelling to Euston.
Bickenhill ("Birmingham Interchange")
The March 2010 report proposed that a new "Birmingham Interchange" station would be built in rural Solihull, on the other side of the M42 motorwayM42 motorway
The M42 motorway is a major road in England. The motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre and Tamworth on the way. The section between the M40 and M6 road forms...
from the National Exhibition Centre
National Exhibition Centre
The National Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre in Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 628 acres making it the...
, Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International Station
Birmingham International railway station
Birmingham International railway station is located in the borough of Solihull, just east of the city of Birmingham in England.The station is on the Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line 14 km east of Birmingham New Street and serves both Birmingham International Airport and the National Exhibition...
. The interchange would be connected by a people mover
People mover
A people mover or automated people mover is a fully automated, grade-separated mass transit system.The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks, but is sometimes applied to considerably more complex automated...
to the other sites; the AirRail Link
AirRail Link
The AirRail Link is a people mover linking Birmingham Airport with Birmingham International railway station and the National Exhibition Centre , in the United Kingdom...
people mover already operates between Birmingham International station and the airport.
According to Birmingham Airport's chief executive Paul Kehoe, HS2 is a key element in increasing the number of flights using the airport, and patronage by inhabitants of London and the South-East
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
, as the high-speed link would reduce travelling times to Birmingham from London to under 40mins.
Birmingham city centre
New Street station, the main station serving central Birmingham, has been described as operating at full capacity and being unable to accommodate new high-speed services. A new terminus for High Speed 2, termed "Birmingham Curzon Street" in the government's command paperCommand paper
A command paper is a document issued by the British government and presented to Parliament. White papers, green papers, treaties, reports from Royal Commissions and various government bodies can all be released as command papers, so-called because they are presented to Parliament formally 'By Her...
and as "Birmingham Fazeley Street" in the report produced by High Speed 2 Ltd, would be built on land between Moor Street Queensway
Queensway
-United Kingdom:*Queensway *Queensway *Queensway Tunnel, in Merseyside*Queensway tube station, in London*Queensway, Rochdale, in Greater Manchester.*Queensway , a shopping centre*Queensway , a defunct furniture retailer...
and the site of the old Curzon Street Station. It would be reached via a spur line from a triangular junction with the "main" HS2 trunk at Coleshill
Coleshill, Warwickshire
Coleshill is a market town in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England, taking its name from the River Cole. It has a population of 6,343 and is situated east of Birmingham.-Location:...
.
Development plans for the Eastside
Eastside, Birmingham
Eastside is a district of Birmingham City Centre, England currently undergoing a major redevelopment project. The overall cost when completed is expected to be £6–8 billion over a period of ten years which will result in the creation of 12,000 jobs. 8,000 jobs are expected to be created during the...
district and a new campus for Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University is a British university in the city of Birmingham, England. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University and University of Birmingham...
continued to be progressed, though incompatible with HS2, because the government did not inform them of the proposed route.
As Curzon Street/Fazeley Street terminus would not receive other services, local or regional rail passengers arriving in Birmingham would need to transfer from New Street, Snow Hill or Moor Street stations. The direct pedestrian access between the HS2 terminal site and New Street, the city's main station, entails traversing the Smallbrook Queensway
Queensway (Birmingham)
Queensway is a name applied to a number of roads in central Birmingham, especially those which formed the A4400 Inner Ring Road.The name is most often used to refer to the Great Charles Street Queensway tunnel, part of the A38....
underpass under the Bull Ring, Birmingham shopping centre or to create a high and low level link between the existing Moor Street station and the new Curzon Street station with a possible loop line between the two levels to allow onward travel to Kidderminster and Worcester.
East Midlands
A new station in the East Midlands is also proposed at an unidentified site. This station might take the form of a parkwayParkway
The term parkway has several distinct principal meanings and numerous synonyms around the world, for either a type of landscaped area or a type of road.Type of landscaped area:...
station,In British usage, a parkway is station with car parking, remote from the location it is intended to serve and not be sited in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
or Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
which it would serve. Business leaders in the area supported high-speed rail coming to the East Midlands but were concerned that a parkway station instead of centrally located city stations would result in no overall net benefit in journey times.
Infrastructure
High Speed 2 Ltd's report uses the specifications of a high-speed line built to a European structure gaugeStructure gauge
The structure gauge, also called the minimum clearance outline, is the minimum height and width of tunnels and bridges as well as the minimum height and width of the doors that allow a rail siding access into a warehouse...
(as was High Speed 1) and conforming to European Union technical standards for interoperability for high-speed rail (EU Directive 96/48/EC). HS2 Ltd's report assumed a GC structure gauge for passenger capacity estimations, with a maximum design speed of 250 miles per hour (111.8 m/s). Initially, trains would run at a maximum 360 kilometres per hour (223.7 mph).
Freight trains could use the line only within a limited night-time window, due to their relatively low speed. The new line would also release capacity for freight on the existing West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
and Midland Main Line
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.The present-day line links London St...
.
Signalling would be a level of the European Rail Traffic Management System
European Rail Traffic Management System
The European Rail Traffic Management System is an initiative backed by the European Union to enhance cross-border interoperability and signalling procurement by creating a single Europe-wide standard for train control and command systems....
using in-cab signalling, to resolve the visibility issues associated with line-side signals at speeds over 200 kilometres per hour (124.3 mph)
Platform height will be 760 millimetres (29.9 in).
Rolling stock
HS2 mentioned two types of train:- 'Classic compatible' trains would be built to a British loading gaugeLoading gaugeA loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...
,The British Rail Class 373British Rail Class 373The British Rail Class 373 or TGV-TMST train is an electric multiple unit that operates Eurostar's high-speed rail service between Britain, France and Belgium via the Channel Tunnel...
trains used by EurostarEurostarEurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
are an existing example of a high-speed train that is compatible with French/Belgian high-speed lines as well as with the loading gauge of the East- andEast Coast Main LineThe East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
West Coast Main LineWest Coast Main LineThe West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
s. and could leave the high-speed line to join conventional routes such as the West Coast Main LineWest Coast Main LineThe West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
, Midland Main LineMidland Main LineThe Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.The present-day line links London St...
and East Coast Main LineEast Coast Main LineThe East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
. - Wider and taller trains built to a European loading gauge, which would be confined to the high-speed network (including High Speed 1, High Speed 2) and other lines cleared to their loading gauge.
The report also considered the possibility of gauge enhancement on non-high-speed lines as an alternative to 'classic compatible' trains, to allow European-gauge trains to run beyond the high-speed network.
Both types would have a maximum speed of at least 360 kilometres per hour (223.7 mph) and length of at least 200 metres (656.2 ft). Two units could be joined together for a 400 metres (1,312.3 ft) train, but only platforms specially built or rebuilt for the high-speed line would be able to accommodate such long trains.
HS2 Ltd stated that, because of their non-standard nature, the classic-compatible trains were expected to be more expensive.
Maintenance depot
In April 2010 ARUP was asked to develop proposals for the location, engineering specification and site layout of the Infrastructure Maintenance Depot (IMD). The general location of the IMD was identified as ideally adjacent to, or within 10k of the intersection of the preferred HS2 route and the East West Rail (EWR) route near Steeple ClaydonSteeple Claydon
Steeple Claydon is a village and also a civil parish within the district of Aylesbury Vale in Buckinghamshire, England. It has an unusually high number of gingers, it is speculated that this is due to most people's mums also being their aunts. Steeple Claydon is located about four miles south of...
/Calvert
Calvert, Buckinghamshire
Calvert is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, near the village of Steeple Claydon.Originally named after a wealthy local family, the village was founded as a hamlet in the Victorian era to house workers for the brick works that were constructed in the area. The works have since been closed and...
in Buckinghamshire. The feasibility of using the MoD site at Bicester as the IMD was also considered. Six such potential sites were shortlisted and rated against the specification. The preferred site, called 'Thame Road' (at Claydon Junction) and a fall-back site, 'Great Pond' were announced in December 2010. The nearby Calvert Waste Plant has also been identified for heat and power generation.
Cost
The first 120 mile section from London to Birmingham will cost £15.8 to £17.4 billion,while the cost for the entire Y-shaped 335 mile network is £30 billion.
Upgrading existing lines from London to Birmingham instead of building the new HS2 will cost more (£20bn) and will provide only two-thirds the extra capacity of HS2 according to Lord Adonis.
Timeline to opening
High Speed 2 Ltd suggested that, following ministerial approval, public consultation, parliamentary approval through a hybrid billHybrid bill
In the United Kingdom, a hybrid bill is a public bill which affects the private interests of a particular person or organization. It is generally initiated by the Government on behalf of non-Parliamentary bodies such as local authorities and is treated like a private bill for the beginning of its...
, and detailed design, construction of the London-Birmingham section could begin in mid-2018. This is estimated to require six-and-a-half years, with a further year to finish testing. Reconstruction of Euston station and preparation of related infrastructure is expected to require the full length of the construction period to complete. Other major construction elements include the Old Oak Common and Birmingham stations (over four years), and the tunnelling work (Old Oak to Euston tunnel, tunnels at Little Missenden, Ufton Wood, Chalfont and Amersham), all estimated to require over four years for construction. Opening would be at the end of 2025.
The command paper suggested that opening to Birmingham should be possible by the end of 2026. The timetable included the additional work of preparing the routes to Leeds and Manchester, for approval by Parliament in the hybrid bill. The initial Y-shaped network was to be presented in one bill in an attempt to simplify planning and minimise the parliamentary time required for the bill.
Government rationale
According to the Department of Transport, the major purpose of HS2 is to provide additional capacity on the rail network from London to the Midlands and North. Despite an upgrade to the WCMLWest Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
completed in 2008 (see West Coast Main Line#Modernisation by Network Rail) and the expected implementation of plans for longer trains and cab signalling on that route, the DfT expected the WCML to have insufficient capacity south of Rugby
Rugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
sometime around 2025 without a substantial increase in capacity. However, a member of the 'HS2 Action Alliance' has cricised the Department of Transport's demand forecasts as being too high, as well as having other shortcomings in the assessment methodology. The WCML Rugby Euston section was already operating at up to 80% of capacity in the 2009 morning peak. Additionally, railway passenger numbers have been growing significantly in recent years.
The Government's transport strategy identified fourteen strategic national transport corridors in England, of which the London West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
route is the "single most important and heavily used, presenting both the greatest challenges in terms of future capacity and the greatest opportunities to promote a shift of passenger and freight traffic from road to rail".
In launching the project, the DfT announced that the new High Speed 2 line between London and the West Midlands would follow a different alignment
Alignment
Alignment may refer to:* Alignment , secondary evidence used to associate features such as postholes* Alignment , in Israel from 1965 to 1992...
from that of the existing WCML, rejecting the option of further upgrading or building new tracks alongside the existing WCML as being too costly and disruptive, and because the existing Victorian-era WCML alignment was not suitable for very high speeds.
The new line "would improve rail services from London to cities in the North of England and Scotland, and the suggested approach route west of London improves passenger transport links to Heathrow Airport". Additionally, if the new line were connected to the Great Western Main Line
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
(GWML) and Crossrail
Crossrail
Crossrail is a project to build a major new railway link under central London. The name refers to the first of two routes which are the responsibility of Crossrail Ltd. It is based on an entirely new east-west tunnel with a central section from to Liverpool Street station...
it would provide links with East and West London, and the Thames Valley.
The Government expects that over the next 30 years, HS2 will cost £32 billion to build, generate £27 billion in fares and provide £43.7 billion of economic benefits.
Support
Organisations that support the HS2 project include Greengauge 21Greengauge 21
Greengauge 21 is a non-for-profit registered company that aims to investigate and develop the concepts associated with a UK high speed rail network.-Research:...
(a research company).
The Scottish Government's policy is to discuss with the UK Government the development of a Scottish high-speed rail link connecting to London and continental Europe, aiming to reduced journey times to London from Scotland to under 3 hours.
Other supportive campaigns include The Campaign for HSR, led by Professor David Begg, which aims to canvas support from businesses across the UK to promote the case for the proposed high-speed rail link. The campaign currently has support from over 400 UK businesses.
Go-HS2 is a group comprising Centro, Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham Airport, and the NEC Group. Its objective is to promote the benefits that its members believe HS2 will bring to Birmingham and the West Midlands. It is also supported by the wider Passenger Transport Executives Group (PTEG) along with many urban councils in the north of England.
Opposition
The HS2 Action Alliance was formed in May 2010, as an umbrella group for over sixty local groups that oppose HS2 including ad hoc entities, residents' associations, and parish councils. The Alliance's primary aim is to prevent HS2 from happening; secondary aims include evaluating and minimising the impacts of HS2 on individuals, communities and the environment, and communication of facts about HS2, and its compensation scheme.The HS2 proposals have been opposed by a number of local authorities along or adjacent to the route. Eighteen of these have joined together in a national campaign to actively challenge the HS2 scheme. The alliance is called '51m' as the local authorities contend that HS2 will cost each Parliamentary Constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
£51 million. Constituent members of 51m are Buckinghamshire County Council
Buckinghamshire County Council
Buckinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in England, the United Kingdom. Its area of control does not include Milton Keynes, which is a unitary authority...
, Aylesbury Vale District Council, Chiltern District Council, South Bucks District Council
South Bucks
South Bucks is one of four local government districts in the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in South East England.The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, by the amalgamation of the area of Beaconsfield Urban District with part of Eton Rural District...
, Wycombe District Council, London Borough of Hillingdon
London Borough of Hillingdon
The London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England. The borough's population was recorded as 243,006 in the 2001 Census. The borough incorporates the former districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the...
, Cherwell District Council, Lichfield District Council
Lichfield District Council
Lichfield District Council is a non metropolitan district council, which covers the district of Lichfield in Staffordshire, England. It was formed in 1974 from Lichfield City Council and Lichfield Rural District Council...
, South Northants District Council
South Northamptonshire
South Northamptonshire is a local government district in Northamptonshire, England. Its council is based in Towcester.The district is rural and sparsely populated with just over 79,293 people in 2000 and 91,000 in 2008, a 14.8% increase. The largest town in the district is Brackley, which has a...
, Warwick District Council
Warwick (district)
Warwick is a local government district of central Warwickshire in England. The current leader of the district council is Conservative Party member Michael Doody. The council is currently controlled by the Conservative group, who hold 23 of the 46 council seats...
, North Warwickshire Borough Council
North Warwickshire
North Warwickshire is a local government district and borough in Warwickshire, England. The main town in the district is Atherstone where the council is based...
, Warwickshire County Council, Stratford-on-Avon District Council, Leicestershire County Council
Leicestershire County Council
Leicestershire County Council is the county council for the English non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888. The county is divided into 52 electoral divisions, which return a total of 55 councillors. The council is controlled by...
, Harborough District Council
Harborough
Harborough is a local government district of Leicestershire, England, named after its main town, Market Harborough. Covering , the District is by far the largest of the eight district authorities in Leicestershire and covers almost a quarter of the County....
, Three Rivers District Council
Three Rivers District Council
Three Rivers District Council is the local authority for the Three Rivers non-metropolitan district of England, the United Kingdom. Three Rivers is located in the south-west of Hertfordshire, in the East of England region...
, Oxfordshire County Council
Oxfordshire County Council
Oxfordshire County Council, established in 1889, is the county council, or upper-tier local authority, for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire, in the South East of England, an elected body responsible for the most strategic local government services in the county.-History:County Councils...
, and Coventry City Council. The other councils that have declared their opposition are Camden Borough Council, Northamptonshire and Staffordshire County Councils.
Alan Francis, Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
transport speaker, outlined the party's support for high-speed rail in principle in terms of benefits to capacity, reduced journey times and potential for reduced carbon emissions, but recommended a line restricted to 300 kilometres per hour (186.4 mph) to 320 kilometres per hour (198.8 mph) which would enable it to use existing transport corridors to a greater extent and increase efficiency; the Green Party voted to oppose the proposed HS2 plans at their Spring 2011 conference, on environmental and economic grounds; the anti-taxation pressure group Taxpayers Alliance have also opposed HS2 on similar grounds, describing the project as a white elephant
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth...
.
The New Economics Foundation
New Economics Foundation
The New Economics Foundation is a British think-tank.NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit with the aim of working for a "new model of wealth creation, based on equality, diversity and economic stability"....
(A think tank promoting environmentalism, localism and anti-capitalism) published a formal response to the public consultation on 5 August 2011 Response to the HS2 Consultation which concludes that 'As it stands, the Government’s case for a high speed rail link between London and northern cities (HS2) is incomplete and therefore cannot be used as a reliable basis for a decision on the project. Too much has been omitted from the analysis for it to be robust and persuasive... The limitations of the HS2 appraisal are as follows:
1. Important material impacts of HS2 are excluded from the analysis
2. By separating rhetoric on objectives from the appraisal, it is not possible to test the claims that are being made for HS2 which has implications for accountability
3. Appraisal is not rooted in stakeholder engagement
4. Evaluation of potential alternatives is incomplete
5. Time savings are over-valued and over-emphasised
6. There are significant inconsistencies with existing rail capacity and future demand figures
7. The economic case is dependent on potentially optimistic economic growth
8. The opportunity cost of HS2 investment is poorly evaluated
9. Sensitivity testing is incomplete
10. The carbon case for HS2 has not been made.
We call on the Government to postpone a decision on HS2, and to commission a full-scale independent
and impartial analysis of the proposal before proceeding further.'
Other
Organisations with noncommittal, ambiguous or dissatisfied positions include the Campaign to Protect Rural England, the National TrustNational Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth (EWNI)
Friends of the Earth is one of 70 national groups around the world which make up the Friends of the Earth network of environmental organizations...
, and the Campaign for Better Transport. The CPRE stated that HS2 should not run at 'ultra high speeds', claiming that lower speeds would increase journey times only slightly, while allowing the line to run along existing motorway and railway corridors, reducing intrusion. The railway campaigning organisation Railfuture, which supports high speed rail in principle, indicated in its submission to the Transport Select Committee Inquiry into HS2 that it sees no benefit in trains running at up to 400 kilometres per hour (248.5 mph) and therefore is not in favour of the current proposal and route, and advises alternatives are investigated.
Arup, who did the engineering work to identify routes for HS2 Ltd., have opposed the chosen route for HS2 (route 3) calling it "deeply flawed" They have stated the route should link to Heathrow and then follow the M40 motorway and Chiltern railway line, improving the business case, lowering construction costs and creating less impact on the countryside.
The Wildlife Trusts have criticised the proposals, stating that the former Government's policy on High Speed Rail (March 2010) underestimated the effect on wildlife habitats (with 4 SSSIs and over 50 of other types of nature site affected), as well as noting that the proposals had not comprehensively shown any significant effect on transport carbon emissions and questioning the economic benefits of a line. The trusts called for additional research to be done on the effects of a high-speed line.
The Federation of Small Businesses
Federation of Small Businesses
The Federation of Small Businesses was formed in 1974 and is the UK's leading business organisation representing small and medium sized businesses.- About the FSB :...
expressed scepticism over the need for high-speed rail, stating that roads expenditure was more useful for its members, and Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce opined that HS2 offered no benefit to its area.
On 8 November 2011 the independent Commons Transport Committee which had been hearing evidence from supporters and opponents released its findings, reporting 'A good case' and 'a new era of inter-urban travel in Britain'. The Committee's endorsement came with some caveats, principally that HSR beyond Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds should be firmly committed too, that investment in rail elsewhere should not suffer and that the public debate had failed to address the facts and resorted to name calling and accusations of nimbyism. While questioning some data it found a good economic case for the project bringing more benefits than a conventional rail line, that the noise impact would be less than feared and that while it would not reduce carbon dioxide emmissions they would be smaller than under further motorway or air traffic expansion and that the business case for diverting via Heathrow had not been made. The reports findings were welcomed by the Association of Train Operating Companies, Campaign for Better Transport, Countryside Alliance and Campaign to Protect Rural England. Action Groups Against High Speed Two (AGHAST) condemned the authors as a 'partisan committee' though they welcomed some of the findings saying it poked holes in the Governments arguments.
Visual impact
The visual impact of HS2 has received particular attention in the ChilternsChiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.-Location:...
which is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Government announced in January 2011 that £2m would be spent planting trees along sections of the route to mitigate the visual impact of HS2.
Property demolition and land take
HS2's Birmingham stage would result in the demolition of more than 400 houses; 250 around Euston station, 20–30 between Old Oak CommonOld Oak Common
Old Oak Common is an area of London between Harlesden and Acton known for its railway depots, particularly Old Oak Common TMD. Further south lies an open area, Wormwood Scrubs Park, and Wormwood Scrubs prison...
and West Ruislip, a number of demolitions at Ealing, around 50 in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, and the remainder in pockets along the route. This includes nine Grade II listed buildings and possibly a Grade II* listed farmhouse at Hampton in Arden.
In Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, the new Curzon Gate
Curzon Gate
Curzon Gate is a residential development located on the edge of Birmingham City Centre, England, on a prominent gateway site into the city centre. The land was formerly occupied by Castle Cement silos. The site is located in the Eastside area, which is currently witnessing a large-scale...
student residence would have to be demolished and Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University is a British university in the city of Birmingham, England. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University and University of Birmingham...
wanted a £30 million refund after the plans were revealed.
Loss of wildlife habitat, and recreation space
David LidingtonDavid Lidington
David Roy Lidington PC is a British Conservative Party politician, who has been Member of Parliament for Aylesbury since 1992...
, MP for Aylesbury
Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Aylesbury is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party has held the seat since 1924, and held it at the 2010 general election with a 52.2% share of the vote.-Boundaries:...
, raised concerns that the route could damage the 47 kilometres (29.2 mi)-wide Chiltern Hills
Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.-Location:...
area of outstanding natural beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
, the Colne
River Colne, Hertfordshire
The Colne is a river in England which is a tributary of the River Thames. It flows mainly through Hertfordshire and forms the boundary between the South Bucks district of Buckinghamshire and the London Borough of Hillingdon...
valley regional park on the outskirts of London, and other areas of green belt
Green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...
.
HS2's preferred route would pass through the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
via the Misbourne Valley
River Misbourne
The River Misbourne rises in a field on the outskirts of Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, and flows down the Misbourne valley to join the River Colne just north of where the latter is crossed by the A40 Western Avenue....
. Initially through a tunnel beneath Chalfont St Giles
Chalfont St Giles
Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish within Chiltern district in south east Buckinghamshire, England, on the edge of the Chilterns, 25 miles from London, and near Seer Green, Jordans, Chalfont St Peter, Little Chalfont and Amersham....
emerging just after Amersham
Amersham
Amersham is a market town and civil parish within Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England, 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills. It is part of the London commuter belt....
, then past Wendover
Wendover
Wendover is a market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district...
and Stoke Mandeville
Stoke Mandeville
Stoke Mandeville is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district to the south-east of Aylesbury in the county of Buckinghamshire, England. Although a separate civil parish, the village falls within the Aylesbury Urban Area...
. Its proposals also include another re-alignment of more than 1 kilometres (1,093.6 yd) of the River Tame, and construction of a 635 metres (694.4 yd)-long viaduct and a cutting through ancient woodland at a nature reserve
The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country
The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country is a wildlife trust covering Birmingham and the Black Country in the West Midlands of England...
at Park Hall on the edge of Birmingham.
Carbon emissions
In 2007, the Department for TransportDepartment for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
commissioned a report, Estimated Carbon Impact of a New North South Line, from Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. , or more commonly Booz Allen, is an American public consulting firm headquartered in McLean, Fairfax County, Virginia, with 80 other offices throughout the United States. Ralph Shrader is its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The firm was founded by Edwin Booz in...
to investigate the likely overall carbon impacts associated with the construction and operation of a new rail line to either Manchester or Scotland including any expected modal transport shifts, and the comparison with the case in which no new high-speed lines were built. The report concluded that there were no carbon benefits in building a new line from London to Manchester. The additional carbon from a new rail route would be larger than the case in which no new line was built.
The High Speed Rail Command paper published in March 2010 stated that in the worse case with no shift from aviation to rail and no reduction in carbon intensity of electricity generation, the scheme would result in an increase of emissions by 440,000 tonnes per year. (~0.3% of domestics greenhouse transport emissions in 2008).
The Eddington Report cautioned against the common argument of modal shift from air to train as a carbon emissions benefit to high-speed rail - since only 1.2% of UK carbon emissions are due to domestic commercial aviation, and that rail transportation energy efficiency is reduced as speed increases.
The Government White Paper Delivering a Sustainable Railway states trains that travel at a speed of 350 kilometres per hour (217.5 mph) uses 90% more energy than at 200 kilometres per hour (124.3 mph); which results in carbon emissions for a London to Edinburgh journey of 14 kg per passenger for high speed rail compared to 7 kg per passenger for conventional rail. Air travel uses 26 kg per passenger for the same journey. The paper questioned the value for money of high speed rail as a method of reducing carbon emissions, but noted that with a switch to carbon free or neutral energy production the case becomes much more favourable.
Noise
HS2 Ltd stated that 21,300 dwellings could experience a noticeable increase in rail noise and 200 non-residential receptors (community; education; healthcare; and recreational/social facilities) within 300 metres of the preferred route have the potential to experience significant noise impacts. The Government has announced that trees planted to create a visual barrier will also reduce noise pollution along the route.Geology and water supply
Research presented by Dr Haydon Bailey, geological adviser to the Chiltern Society, showed that HS2 tunnelling could cause long term damage to the chalk aquifer system responsible for water supply for the North Western Home Counties and North London.Compensation
The only compensation scheme for which details are available is the government's discretionary Exceptional Hardship Scheme (EHS), on which consultation closed on 17 June 2010. It is intended to compensate homeowners who have difficulty selling their home because of the HS2 route announcement, to protecting those whose property value may be seriously affected by the 'preferred route option' and who urgently need to sell.The EHS was intended to run from about August 2010, until the route is chosen (originally estimated around the end of 2011). Homeowners may apply to the Secretary of State to buy their home, at its full market value (assuming no HS2), if all of the following criteria are met:
- Residential owner-occupier.
- Pressing need to sell. This means a change in employment location; extreme financial pressure; to accommodate enlarged family; move into sheltered accommodation; or medical condition of a family member.
- On or in 'close vicinity' of the 'preferred route' (that is mainly those who will later on be covered by statutory blight provisions).
- Have tried to sell – been on the market for at least three months with no offers within 15% of full market value (as if no HS2).
- Can demonstrate inability to sell is due to HS2.
- No prior knowledge of HS2 before acquiring the property.
Decisions on individual applications will by made by a panel of experts.
The results of the consultations are not yet known. But Alison Munro, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, has stated that they are also looking at other options, including property bonds.
The statutory blight regime would apply to any route confirmed for a new high-speed line following the public consultations, now due to commence in 2011.
HS2 Action Alliance's alternative compensation solution for property blight was presented to DfT/HS2 Ltd and Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond, in response to the consultation on the EHS. The Alliance also presented DfT and HS2 Ltd with a pilot study on property blight.
See also
- High Speed 1
- Channel TunnelChannel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
- EurostarEurostarEurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
- Department for TransportDepartment for TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
- West Coast Main LineWest Coast Main LineThe West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...