HS2: an issue of integration

How will existing services use the new high-speed network?

There’s a long lead time involved in bringing rail projects to fruition. One only has to look at the fact that it will have taken 18 years to turn the original Thameslink 2000 project into a reality. In that context, it’s a relatively short time span before trains start to run on HS2 in 2026 between London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street, with national network integration following in 2027 when high- speed infrastructure reaches Crewe.

HS2 has changed a lot since it was first conceived. The planned link with HS1 using the North London Line has been dropped, as has the provision of services at Heathrow Airport. Both of these judgements have reduced the connectivity benefits of the route, among which is the provision of through services to the continent from population centres north of London. By contrast, the station to serve Manchester Airport has been retained.

The original plan for HS1 included extensive daytime services beyond London, for which a fleet of shorter-length Class 373 Eurostar trainsets was built, only for them to spend most of their time working within France, where they have now been withdrawn. There was a short spell of use by GNER, before the introduction of Voyager trains on Cross- Country routes provided surplus HST sets, which augmented the East Coast fleet and allowed the Class 373 rolling stock to be replaced. It was also the intention to provide overnight services with sleeping and seated rolling stock, but that plan collapsed as the economic reality of the operations became evident.

There were high hopes that the Channel Tunnel would revitalise international rail freight movement, but again this failed to materialise and today less than one million tonnes are conveyed, down from the two million tonnes carried by train ferries before these were replaced.

Changes that have been made to plans for HS2 may well have avoided such costly mistakes. This is an acknowledgement that the budget airlines have transformed the market for travel beyond Britain, and that extending the reach of freight services using the larger continental gauge holds little prospect of generating a meaningful share of international freight movement.

By contrast, the decision to build a cut-off to serve a new high-speed hub at Crewe is a positive change to the original plan. Although a relatively small town with a population of 73,000, it remains a focal point for rail services which radiate to all points of the compass.

The journey time from London Euston will be 55 minutes, after a stop at Old Oak Common to provide connectivity with Heathrow Airport, and to inform its decisions the Government has recently completed a period of consultation about service pattern options. At present the intention is that two trains per hour will be diverted from the core route and these will go forward to Liverpool and Preston.

A 200-metre trainset length forms the basis of planning for HS2 operations, but an alternative has emerged to run trains in multiple where this can be accommodated. At Crewe, the legacy of large-scale freight operations centred on Basford Hall Yard resulted in Up and Down independent lines to Manchester, Liverpool and Holyhead being provided to keep freight clear of the station, with an underpass to avoid conflicting movements.

These tracks are now sparsely used but remain in situ and provide the opportunity to build new 400-metre-long platforms which can be easily accessed from the nearby station facilities. With trains operating in multiple it would be possible for four services per hour to be projected to destinations to provide high- speed connectivity. A service could, for example, be provided to Holyhead.

A less ambitious option is to reduce the timetable offered at the Crewe Hub to a single service per hour, with portions going forward to Liverpool and Preston - which are the destinations currently planned. This has the attraction that at present there is no planned service to Stoke-on-Trent, but this would be possible if the additional path created by multiple working was used.

Transport for the North ( TfN) has received Government funding of £ 300 million to make local investment decisions about the way HS2 can be used to best effect by allowing faster journeys between northern cities. The decision to provide a loop line that will serve Chesterfield and the centre of Sheffield, rather than provide a parkway station at Meadowhall, has the benefit of creating another hub to allow access to the route for a range of existing and new services.

It will transform the pedestrian services currently provided between Sheffield and Leeds and will enable the journey to be completed in less than 30 minutes. As the loop line will rejoin HS2 to the south of the intended connection to the East Coast Main Line at Church Fenton it will also bring journey time improvements for trains operating between Sheffield and York which do not need to be routed via Leeds.

Through services using HS2 will run between London and Sheffield, with journey time reduced to 79 minutes from the current two hours-plus. There will also be an impact on longer distance services operated by both the East Midlands and Cross- Country franchises, given the ability to use the high-speed line for part of the journey. As the final determination of the route geography only took place in July, it will take some time to work out the optimum opportunities for these services.

The use of HS1 to provide improved services to destinations in Kent justified the provision of Class 395 dual-voltage trains capable of operating at 140mph on highspeed infrastructure. It is unlikely that the decision to create a Sheffield loop line and the opportunities presented for using the route for local services will justify such investment. Despite that, 100mph-running is likely to become much more of a norm, which is a major improvement on the current line speeds of no more than 75mph.

TfN remains committed to a direct highspeed connection to Liverpool, which at present will be served by trains using the existing network for the final part of the journey, and is targeting firm plans for a trans-Pennine high- speed link between Manchester and Leeds. Neither of these aspirations look likely to be delivered before completion of the planned HS2 route to Leeds in 2033, with its spur lines to provide national network connectivity.

“HS2 has changed a lot since it was first conceived. The planned link with HS1 using the North London Line has been dropped, as has the provision of services at Heathrow Airport.”