Lobbying group seeks revision on HS2/WCML link

Lichfield-based lobbying group Transport for Britain is calling for a route change which it says will increase access to services and cut more than £1 billion from the cost of building HS2 Phase 1.

Its campaign focuses on moving the connection between HS2 and the West Coast Main Line from Handsacre to a new site just east of Lichfield, at Huddlesford.

At present, HS2 Phase 1 has been designed to cross above the WCML near to Huddlesford and then diverge at Fradley.

From here, a short stretch of track is planned to converge with the WCML at Handsacre while the main portion of HS2 transitions into Phase 2a and then runs parallel with the WCML to Crewe.

Transport for Britain argues that a better option would be to build a direct connection at Huddleford instead, from where HS2 services would be routed on to the WCML and through the existing station at Lichfield Trent Valley.

It argues that not only would this enable the city of Lichfield to be directly served by HS2, it would also reduce the length of the connection to the WCML by approximately three miles.

The new connection could also delay or entirely avoid the need to build any of Phase 2a to Crewe or 2b to the North West, it says.

The second part of TfB’s proposal is to utilise an existing route between Lichfield and Alrewas so that CrossCountry services from Burton, Derby, Sheffield and the North East could connect with HS2 services at Lichfield Trent Valley.

Alternatively, classic compatible trains could be routed on and off HS2 via a new direct connection to an electrified CrossCountry route.

“Given the mounting speculation over the future of the eastern arm of HS2 Phase 2b, it is essential that all alternative strategies for connecting HS2 to the North East can be investigated as a matter of urgency,” said Transport for Britain Managing Director Peter Longman.

“We believe that this option, which requires minimal investment and delivers maximum benefit, some seven years ahead of the earliest predictions for the eastern arm to be completed, is a compelling one.

“It will work with or without electrification. But on the basis the CrossCountry service to the North East and South West is in urgent need of electrification, we suggest that this represents a next logical step.”

The Government is currently drawing up its plans for the HS2 route between the West Midlands and the north of England, in the form of the Integrated Rail Plan, which is due to be published imminently.

TfB has a survey and petition in support of its proposal on its website: https://transportforbritain. co.uk/hs2lichfield/