HS2 Phase 2A
The Government has announced plans to change parts of HS2 Phase 2a from the West Midlands to Crewe, ahead of its Bill’s consideration by a Select Committee.
The changes, revealed on February 12, are in response to requests from petitioners, directions from the Select Committee considering the Bill, and further design development.
Key changes are: lowering the viaduct at Kings Bromley in order to reduce the environmental impact; revising Hansacre Junction to simplify it where Phase 1 connects to the West Coast Main Line; and a new traction power connection at Newlands Lane requiring more than 7km of high voltage electricity line, to ensure the resilience and redundancy needed for traction power on a high-speed railway.
Other changes include construction of temporary and permanent power supply routes to Whitmore and Madeley tunnels, to support the operation of Tunnel Boring Machines during construction, and later the operation of the tunnels.
At Crewe, a southward extension of the southern end of Whitmore Tunnel will eliminate the need for surface works where the A53 road crosses the route, as well as works at and around Crewe station, including the extension of Platform 5 to accommodate 400 metre-long HS2 trains.
The additional provisions to the Bill also include works and powers related to utilities, and highway safety and capacity improvements. All of the changes will require additional land to be acquired and/ or works to be carried out. There are also increased controls on lowvolume lorry movements.
An environmental statement has been published, and a public consultation will take place until March 29.
HS2 Minister Nusrat Ghani said: “HS2 is more than a railway, and the project’s vision is to be a catalyst for economic growth. It has cross-party support and support from councils, Local Enterprise Partnerships, metro mayors and businesses who can see the transformational potential.
“HS2 is making progress and the benefits are already being seen in towns and cities in advance of HS2 services. Around 2,000 businesses have been awarded HS2 contracts and over 7,000 jobs have been supported, a figure that will increase to around 30,000 at peak.”