Study claims HS2 will benefit rail services across the network
THE HS2 high speed rail line will create better rail services on the existing network too, rail officials say.
They have published a new study arguing that the benefits of high speed rail have been underreported.
Attention has focused on plans for a new network to provide high speed services between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.
But Midlands Connect, the region’s transport authority, says HS2 will also lead to better services on the existing rail track. They include new services from Birmingham New Street Station and Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, York, Doncaster, Sheffield and Derby. A new service will also be introduced from Birmingham Moor Street to Oxford.
There will be more services between Birmingham New Street and Shrewsbury, Wellington, Telford, Leamington Spa, Banbury, Oxford and Reading. Services between Birmingham Moor Street and Solihull, Warwick, Leamington Spa and Banbury will also become more frequent.
The report follows the Government’s announcement that it is holding an inquiry into whether the HS2 high speed rail line should go ahead.
And the Department for Transport has confirmed the proposed rail network will cost more than expected and cannot be completed on time. HS2 was due to be finished in 2033 and might now be delayed until 2040. And the project, due to cost £55.7 billion in total, might now cost up to £78 billion.
Sir John Peace, chair of Midlands Connect and Midlands Engine, said: “The benefits of HS2 will be felt by millions of people across the UK, including passengers that never set foot on a high speed train.
“Regional and local rail services are in desperate need of improvement and it’s time we face facts, without the space and flexibility created by HS2, the transformational change needed is not possible.
“It is the capacity released by the line – not just its speed – that will give the whole network a desperately needed overhaul.
“We haven’t built a new intercity railway north of London in a century – piecemeal interventions will do no more than paper over the cracks of an overloaded, tired network.
“Left unchanged, these deficiencies will stifle growth and prosperity for decades to come. Our message to Government is clear; commit to HS2, commit to the regions you serve and give us a transport network fit for the future.”
The extra capacity will be created because long-distance trains on many parts of the rail network use the same rail lines as local and regional services. Building HS2 will allow long distance services to move on to the new line, freeing up space on the existing network. Midlands Connect says 73 stations on the existing rail network will benefit. HS2 will create space for 576,000 extra seats per day on the high speed network, reducing overcrowding on existing lines, and free up space for 144 extra freight trains per day, enough to transport more than 2.5 million more lorries’ worth of cargo on our railways each year.
These benefits will be felt in dozens of villages, towns and cities across the country, including Coventry, Shrewsbury, Leicester, Leamington Spa, Nottingham, Newark, Newcastle and Macclesfield, the transport authority says.
Leaders in the North of England are also keen to ensure HS2 goes ahead. Opponents claim that scrapping the high speed line could allow money to be spent on improving transport links in the north instead, but mayors and council leaders in cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle point out that their region is already due to benefit from HS2.
Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “HS2 is not just about speed or getting to London more quickly, it is about bringing the Northern Powerhouse closer to the great cities of the Midlands. It will create more capacity for local services, the same way Northern Powerhouse Rail does for freight and local passengers across the Pennines.
“Connecting Britain will be a major factor in rebalancing the economy – new lines both to the north west from Birmingham and up the eastern side of the UK, will expand labour markets, grow jobs, helping the North and Midlands to become as prosperous and successful as London.
“New direct links from a city like Coventry to Sheffield, York and Newcastle, by upgrades to the existing network, demonstrate that even those who don’t use an HS2 service will still see the benefits.”