HS2 needs a rebrand

HS2 is in urgent need of rebranding to maintain its ethos and purpose.

The Integrated Rail Plan lopped off most of its eastern arm, pruning it back from Leeds to East Midlands Parkway.

The Golborne Link connection to

the West Coast Main Line has also been lopped, without guaranteeing the alternative connection proposed in the Union Connectivity Review.

HS2 is fast becoming HS1½. It needs to restate and emphasise its role as the trunk main line to the North.

The new line could be branded as the Great North Main Line, complementing the existing West Coast and East Coast Main Lines.

HS2 itself could be renamed UnityRail, as its high-speed rail connections will draw together and help unite the principal cities in the South, Midlands and North.

Christopher Holt, Loughton