30.11.15
HS2 Crewe link six years early – but phase 2 route pushed to autumn 2016
Chancellor George Osborne has rubber-stamped the proposals by HS2 Ltd chair Sir David Higgins to build a key section of the high-speed line early to benefit the north and Midlands.
The link between Birmingham and Crewe will be opened in 2027, six years earlier than its original schedule as part of phase 2, and only one year later than the main London-Birmingham link. It is being called 'phase 2a'.
But the exact route for the rest of phase 2 will not now be published until autumn 2016, about two years later than originally expected when the route consultation finished in January 2014.
The suggestion for an earlier link between Birmingham and Crewe was first made last year in Higgins’ HS2 Plus report. Higgins said at the time that the Crewe link should be done as part of the phase 1 works “because the route between the two is smaller, cheaper and easier to complete within the timescale in connecting the north to the south”.
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Cllr Michael Jones, Conservative leader of Cheshire East Council, told the FT: “It is phenomenal. This is going to make Crewe the central hub it was 175 years ago and create lots of jobs.”
Higgins’ backing for a hub at Crewe was a disappointment for Stoke, which lobbied hard to get a station included in the plans.
Osborne said today: “Bringing forward this part of the HS2 route by six years is a massive step in the right direction for the Northern Powerhouse where high-speed rail will play a big role in connecting up the entire region with the rest of the country.”
The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said: “Bringing HS2 to Crewe ahead of time is a tremendous opportunity for the north to feel the benefits even sooner. We continue to make good progress on our plans for the rest of HS2 phase 2 serving Manchester, east Midlands, South Yorkshire and Leeds and will make a decision on the route in autumn 2016.”
The government has also published Higgins' report suggesting that Leeds should get a single integrated hub station – not a separate HS2 station south of the city centre as originally envisaged.
HS2’s funding envelope (in 2015 prices) now stands at £55.7bn, last week’s Spending Review announced.
The transport secretary has published a series of HS2 documents today, including a new command paper and an update to the strategic case. The papers are here.
(Photo, top: Library image of Sir David Higgins)