HS2 route: London to Manchester by train in one hour (in 20 years)

• Five stations to be built in Manchester, East Midlands, Sheffield and Leeds
• Journeys from London to northern cities slashed by an hour by 2032
• Government says that £32.7bn line must be built for good of Britain
• First phase to Birmingham already faces High Court challenge
• Critics call it an expensive ‘pointless, environmentally catastrophic scheme’

By
Martin Robinson

PUBLISHED:

02:33 EST, 28 January 2013

|

UPDATED:

07:05 EST, 28 January 2013

New route: Chancellor George Osborne is shown a map of the HS2 route through his Cheshire constituency today

The second phase of the controversial HS2 route was unveiled today, with the Government admitting many may be ‘upset’ by it but it is the ‘right thing to do for the country’.

Britain’s first new line outside the capital for 120 years will carry 250mph trains able to slash journey times from London to Manchester and Leeds by an hour from 2032.

But critics say it is a £32billion ‘white elephant’ set to wreck vast swathes of the English countryside and blight the lives of millions.

Five new stations would also be built on the
350-mile route, but battle lines have already been drawn as the
Government says it must be built despite stern opposition from ‘Nimbys’.

In a fresh attack on protesters, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said today the route would ‘upset some people’ who would ‘complain while it was being built’ but would then use it.

‘You are going to upset a number of people because the route will go through their area and that will be annoying for them and you will get opposition to it,’ he said.

‘But I think, overall, one has got to look at the long-term chances for the United Kingdom. This is the first railway to be built north of London for 120 years.

‘The easy thing for the Government would be not to do this.

‘It isn’t just about journey time – it is actually about capacity, it’s about making sure that all those services people are calling for we are able to develop services later on for.’

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Route: The Government has announced phase two of the HS2 scheme today, which will send fast trains to Manchester and Leeds via several new stations. The first section to Birmingham was announced previously

Predictions: When HS2 is opened in 20 years this graphic shows the expected journey time compared to the current one

The Department for Transport said
there would be five stops on the 211-mile Y-shaped extension northwards
from Birmingham – scheduled to be completed in 2032, six years after the
first phase:

• Manchester – alongside the existing Piccadilly station;
• Manchester Airport – interchange by the M56 between Warburton Green and Davenport Green;
• East Midlands – at Toton, between Nottingham and Derby and one mile from the M1;
• Sheffield – at Meadowhall shopping centre;
• Leeds – at New Lane in the South bank area connected to the main station by walkway

When complete, a train journey from
London to Manchester would be halved to one hour eight minutes, while
the Leeds to London trip would be slashed by an hour to one hour 22
minutes. 

From Birmingham, the journey time to Manchester will be cut to 41 minutes, and to Leeds it will be 57 minutes.

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Phase two from Birmingham to Manchester: This is the proposed route released by the Government today with the key explaining where each of the intersections will be built

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Phase two from Birmingham to Leeds: This is the proposed route released by the Government today with the key explaining where each of the intersections will be built

Officials say the £32.7 billion project will create at least 100,000 jobs but
the Government is braced for a fresh backlash from rural communities
through which the line will pass and some controversy over the chosen
location of stations.

There will also be a ‘dedicated link’ alongside the high-speed line at Crewe to link up with standard trains – reducing journey times to Liverpool and Glasgow.

But a proposed spur to Heathrow has been put on hold pending the results of Sir Howard Davies’ review of future airport capacity – which is not due to give a final report until the summer of 2015.

Instead passengers heading to the world’s busiest airport will have to change onto the new London east-west Crossrail service for an 11-minute transfer to terminals.

Speedy: Train journey times to cities like Birmingham would be hugely reduced within 20 years, creating jobs and bringing in investment

Design: This image shows the Birmingham and Fazeley viaduct, part of the new proposed route for the HS2 high speed rail scheme, but there are concerns from rural residents whose lives may be altered by the £32.7bn project

‘Linking communities and businesses across the
country and shrinking the distances between our greatest cities, High
Speed Rail is an engine for growth that will help to drive regional
regeneration and invigorate our regional economies,’ David Cameron said.

‘It is vital that we get on board the high-speed revolution.

‘We are in a global race and this Government’s decision to make High
Speed Rail a reality is another example of the action we taking to equip
Britain to compete and thrive in that race.

‘High Speed Rail is a catalyst that will help to secure economic
prosperity across Britain, rebalance our economy and support tens of
thousands of jobs.’

PM: HS2 MUST GO AHEAD TO NARROW THE NORTH/SOUTH DIVIDE

The Prime Minister said today that HS2 must not be blocked if Britain is to progress.

The £32billion project has faced furious opposition from people living near the proposed route.

‘Linking
communities and businesses across the country and shrinking the
distances between our greatest cities, High Speed Rail is an engine for
growth that will help to drive regional regeneration and invigorate our
regional economies,’ David Cameron said.

‘It is vital that we get on board the high-speed revolution.

‘We
are in a global race and this Government’s decision to make High Speed
Rail a reality is another example of the action we taking to equip
Britain to compete and thrive in that race.

‘High
Speed Rail is a catalyst that will help to secure economic prosperity
across Britain, rebalance our economy and support tens of thousands of
jobs.’

But many are queuing up to slam the scheme.

Penny Gaines, chair of the Stop HS2 campaign, said: ‘The Government talks about jobs, and regenerating the North, but in reality, high-speed rail projects elsewhere have sucked jobs to the capital cities, away from the regions. HS2 focuses on long-distance journeys, when the main passenger growth is in regional and local areas.

‘Stop HS2 is firmly of the opinion that the whole HS2 project is fundamentally flawed. It should be cancelled as soon as possible, so that we can concentrate on developing the transport infrastructure that will bring more benefits to more people than a fast train for fat cats.’

‘Again and again with HS2, we’ve heard talk of “connectivity”, but what it really means is connectivity with London. HS2 is a London-centric proposal that seems focused on extending the London commuter belt beyond Birmingham, when we need to create an engine for growth in the North, providing access to jobs for people who want to live and work in the North.

‘Proponents of HS2 don’t seem to realise that people can already live anywhere in the UK and telecommute to anywhere else in the world, and before HS2 is due to open, this will be even easier. It’s yet another example of outmoded thinking that ignores digital technologies, which will be the real wealth and job creator in the 21st century.’

Group Nottinghamshire Better Transport (NBT) branded it ‘environmentally catastrophic’ today.

Chairman David Thornhill said: ‘I have rarely come across such an environmentally catastrophic scheme that is so pointless and so wasteful of money.’

Professor John Tomaney, from the School of Planning, University College London said: ‘They’ve been introduced to deal with regional inequality, but there’s little evidence that they do much to improve “north-south” divides. The evidence seems to suggest that it’s the capital cities that principally benefit.’

‘A lot of claims are being made here, and we need evidence rather than articles of faith.

‘Connectivity within regions is as important as connectivity between regions.’

Example: This departure board shows the frequency and stops HS2 trains would take as they cross Britain at up to 250mph

Claims: The Government says HS2 will negate the need to drive long distances, but critics say the trains will be too overpriced and packed

Critics have suggested that siting the Sheffield station outside the city centre – requiring passengers to take a connecting train of around 7-12mins – will mean standard trains will get people there more quickly.

The project has been welcomed by many civic and business leaders in the region.

Almost every council on the route has admitted that it would be good for their area although their residents may not feel the same.

Opposition: But the line will run through the Chiltern Hills, with villages like Little Missenden set to be on HS2 route to the fury of many

Anger: A field in Cubbington in Warwickshire where the HS2 will go through the middle of, sparking large local opposition

VIDEO: Computer-generated film of the spacious double-decker Hs2 interior

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Business leaders have also backed the project.

Dr Adam Marshall, Director of Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said: ‘Business welcomes the Prime Minister’s commitment to extending high-speed rail to the great cities of the Midlands and the North. Transformative infrastructure projects like HS2 create confidence, jobs and competitiveness, as long as commitments and announcements lead swiftly to action on the ground.’

But the first tranche proved controversial, especially in picturesque Tory heartlands which will be affected, such as the Chilterns, infuriating MPs and countryside campaigners.

HS2 HIGHLIGHTS THAT BRITAIN’S RAIL NETWORK IS DECADES BEHIND

Politicians say that HS2 is the chance to catch up with Europe, which has had high speed rail services for more than 30 years.

Trains reaching speeds up to 250mph would make British services the fastest in the Europe from 2032, but it would then be 50 years after high-speed rail first started on the continent.

In France, its much-admired TGV services (above) have been hitting 200mph (322km/h) since 1981.

Its huge network serves regional towns and cities and even goes into Italy and Switzerland.

The 186mph Thalys trains runs through Belgium, Holland, France and German.

And this is linked with the EU’s spending to make Europe’s railway system uniform, which means that the German 180mph InterCity Express services also reach most of Western Europe’s major cities.

Residents there will not enjoy the economic or personal benefits of a station and some have opposed the project on environmental grounds – a pattern expected to be repeated this time around.

Conservatives in Chancellor George Osborne’s Tatton constituency have already indicated that they will object to any plans to route the line through parts of the Cheshire countryside.

But he said it should go ahead regardless.

The Chancellor said: ‘As a country you have got to make those long-term choices.

‘If our predecessors hadn’t decided to build the railways in the Victorian times, or the motorways in the middle part of the 20th Century, then we wouldn’t have those things today.

‘You have got to commit to these projects even though they take many years.’

The High Court is considering whether the first phase of the project, which will take high-speed trains from London to Birmingham, is legally flawed and needs to be reconsidered.

The challenge was taken to the court by campaigners who accused the Government of failing to undertake a ‘strategic environmental assessment’ or arrange an adequate consultation process.

Labour backs HS2 – which was begun under its administration – but says there are ‘worrying signs’ that the timetable for delivering it is slipping.

Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said: ‘We believe ministers should be working more vigorously to ensure the proposals are delivered on time.’

The ‘botched’ consultation on the first phase may have to be rerun if the High Court upholds the campaigners’ cases, she said, urging ministers to learn lessons.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said that he intended to bring forward the consultation on phase two to begin this year, not 2014, and has asked officials to see whether the entire project can be speeded up.

The route is due to be finalised by the end of next year.

‘As with previous consultations, we will work closely with communities and interested parties to find the right balance between delivering the essential infrastructure that we need and respecting the rights and justifiable concerns of those who will be most affected by HS2′s construction,’ he said.

The proposed routes were ‘a great starting point for the process of engagement to follow’, he said, saying it would ‘deliver a priceless dividend’ for the UK.

‘While doing nothing would be the easy choice it would also be the irresponsible choice. This is an unparalleled opportunity to secure a step-change in Britain’s competitiveness and this Government will do everything possible to ensure that the towns and cities in the Midlands and the North get the connections they need and deserve to thrive,’ he said.

Officials said there would be ‘a generous compensation package for people living near the line’ as well as noise and other nuisance mitigation measures such as tunnels.

VIDEO: SECOND PHASE OF HS2 UNVEILED BY GOVERNMENT

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HS2 route: London to Manchester by train in one hour (in 20 years)