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Published on Wednesday, 11 January 2012 11:02
Britain will have a new high speed rail line providing new capacity and faster journeys across the country from 2026, UK Government officials this week announced. HS2 will be a Y-shaped rail network linked by high speed trains conveying up to 26,000 people each hour at speeds of up to 250mph (400 kph).
HS2 will have stations in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and the East Midlands. Trains will also connect seamlessly with the existing West Coast and East Coast main lines to serve passengers beyond the HS2 network in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Durham, York, Darlington, Liverpool, Preston, Wigan and Lancaster.
It will be built in two phases. The first will see construction of a new 140 mile (225 km) line between London and Birmingham by 2026, the detailed route of which was published this week. The second phase will see lines built from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester by 2033.
A formal consultation on second phase routes will begin in early 2014 with a final route chosen by the end of 2014. The first phase of HS2 will include a connection to Europe via the Channel Tunnel. On completion of HS2 the network will include a direct link to Heathrow Airport.
HS2 will mean time savings, reducing a Birmingham to Leeds journey from 2 hours to just 57 minutes and a Manchester to London journey from 2 hours 8 minutes to only 1 hour 8 minutes. Birmingham to London journeys will be almost halved from 1 hour 24 minutes to 45 minutes, 4 minutes less than the fastest 49 minute service featured in the consultation.
Alterations to the proposed London to Birmingham route will help to ensure the lowest possible impacts on local communities and the environment, UK Government says. The net result of those changes means that:
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around 22.5 miles (36 km) of the route will be completely enclosed in tunnel or green tunnel - compared to 14.5 miles (23 km) for the consultation route;
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around 56.5 miles (91 km) will be in cutting - significantly reducing the visual and noise impact of the line;
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around 40 miles (64 km) will be on viaduct or embankment - around 10 miles (16 km) less than the consultation route.
The network will be built in two phases with the line from London to Birmingham expected to open in 2026 with the onward legs to Manchester and Leeds opening in 2032-33.
The Government estimates the cost of the complete 'Y' shaped network at GBP 32bn and expects it to generate benefits of GBP 47bn and fare revenues of up to GBP 34 billion over a 60-year period.
The route in detail
Phase 1 will comprise an initial London-Birmingham line including a direct link to High Speed One (HS1). This will run from a rebuilt Euston station to a new Birmingham City Centre station at Curzon Street.
A Crossrail interchange station will be built at Old Oak Common in West London, providing direct connections to: the West End, City and Docklands via Crossrail; to the South West and Wales via the Great Western Main line; and to Heathrow via the Heathrow Express.
A second interchange station will be constructed where the line of route passes the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Birmingham Airport close to Junction 6 of the M42. It will offer direct links to Birmingham Airport, the National Exhibition Centre and the M6 and M42.
A direct link to HS1 will be provided in tunnel from Old Oak Common to the existing North London Line, from where existing infrastructure can be used to reach the HS1 line north of St Pancras.
Phase 2 will see the new high speed line running on to Manchester and separately to Leeds. HS2 Ltd is currently engaged in detailed planning work for options for these routes, including stations in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire, as well as for a spur link to Heathrow.
Connections onto the existing West and East Coast main lines will also be included, allowing direct high speed train services to be operated to cities including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Liverpool, Preston, Lancaster, York, Durham and Darlington. Further consideration will also be given to extending the network subsequently to these and other major destinations.
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