HS2 Phase 2b heads to Parliament

High Speed Rail Bill reaches MPs after Phase 2b’s eastern leg was curtailed last year.

THE High Speed Rail Crewe– Manchester Bill was presented to Parliament on January 24. The proposed legislation makes provision for a junction with Phase 2a of

HS2 south of Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly Station; and for a railway between Hoo Green in Cheshire and a junction with the West Coast Main Line at Bamfurlong, south of Wigan.

The line connects with the previously authorised Phase 2a section and immediately enters a tunnel which takes the tracks beneath Crewe station, with new infrastructure provided to extend the main line to Wigan, with a branch to reach Manchester Airport and Piccadilly station in central Manchester, where new platforms will be constructed using the site of the former Mayfield station, which was once used for excursion and later parcels traffic.

JOURNEY TIME REDUCTIONS

When completed there will be a reduction in journey time between London and Manchester of 55 minutes and between Birmingham and Manchester of 45 minutes. With a dedicated route serving Manchester Airport and Piccadilly, three paths per hour will be released on the existing network between Crewe and Manchester via Stockport.

The provision of rolling stock for Phase 1 was settled in December (see Headline News, February issue) with an initial order for 54 trainsets which are to be built by Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe, with fitting out by Alstom at Crewe and Derby. The precise formation has yet to be settled but it is expected that each set will be

660ft long, with a plan to combine two units for running on the core route, before being divided to reach individual destinations located on or beyond the high speed network.