HS2 Bill is delayed for Northern Powerhouse
DFT DECIDES TO FACTOR IN PLANS FOR AIRPORT, PICCADILLY AND EAST-WEST LINKS
THE process to bring high speed rail to Manchester has been delayed by a year - but transport leaders insist the line will still open in 2033.
Key legislation for the £25.07bn Phase 2B of the HS2 line was expected to be submitted to parliament in 2019 but it will now not be submitted until 2020.
While construction of the HS2 line between London and Birmingham is already underway, new legislation is needed to extend the scheme to Manchester and Leeds.
The Department for Transport (DfT) says the delay will allow planners to factor in Northern Powerhouse Rail boosting east-west links between cities in the north and connecting it to the East Coast Mainline.
The Bill for Phase 2B - including a section of track to run from a station by Manchester Airport to Manchester Piccadilly mostly through a 7.9 mile tunnel - needs to be rehashed to include plans for this.
Manchester council has been locked A proposed upgrade of Piccadilly Station has been a bone of contention between Manchester council and the government in a battle with government over the scale of Piccadilly Station’s planned transformation – with town hall bosses demanding at least the equivalent of London’s radical St Pancras overhaul. But an update to councillors in June suggested too little national money and ambition has so far been attached to the plans. While the town hall wants to make the new station highly visible, better connecting it to the centre and east of the city via a new boulevard, with a brand new plaza and an underground through-station, HS2 have designed something less ambitious. It’s yet to be seen if their contrasting views will align in the new version of the Bill. Despite the delay in submitting the Bill, the Department for Transport (DfT) insists the line will be fully operational by 2033. A DfT spokesman said: “In order to maximise the huge potential of HS2, it is important to make sure it takes full account of the emerging vision for the other transformative project of Northern Powerhouse Rail. “Phase 2b of the railway will connect the great cities of the North to boost jobs, housing and economic growth, and remains on track to open in 2033. We will update Parliament as part of our consultation this autumn.”
The overall budget for HS2 is £55.7bn, including rolling stock of trains. The M.E.N. told in June how High Speed Rail bosses are planning to dig four large ventilation shafts in south Manchester - on The Christie Hospital car park, at a Fallowfield school, on part of Withington Golf Course and near junction 3A of the M56. HS2 Ltd bosses have said the shaft sites’ positioning is not final.
The £56bn HS2 route linking London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester is due to cut the journey to the capital to 68 minutes by 2033, as well as boosting seat numbers and, advocates say, the economy.