Sunak to defy backlash by axing HS2 route to Manchester
Sam Blewett and David Hughes, PA Political Staff
Wed, 4 October 2023
Rishi Sunak is expected to defy a backlash from Tory colleagues and northern leaders by abandoning the high-speed rail route to Manchester as he seeks to portray himself as a radical reformer.
The Prime Minister is expected to use his Conservative conference speech in the northern city to axe the HS2 leg from Birmingham as he criticises 30 years of a “broken” system incentivising “the easy decision, not the right one”.
With the Tories having been in charge for the majority of the last three decades, Mr Sunak will pitch himself as the man to “fundamentally change our country” ahead of an election expected next year.
He is widely expected to bring the axe down on the high-speed rail project that was due to connect Manchester with Birmingham, and on to central London, but has so far refused to confirm the plans.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak holds a meeting with his staff in his hotel room ahead of his keynote speech (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Mr Sunak is expected to pledge to reinvest around £36 billion of savings into road and rail schemes in the North and Midlands.
But critics, including Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, warned those schemes would not be feasible without key parts of the infrastructure that would have formed HS2.
Cabinet minister Grant Shapps said the public must wait for Mr Sunak’s speech to “hear exact confirmation” on HS2 as he sought to argue it will still run, but indicating not on high-speed rails between Birmingham and Manchester.
The Defence Secretary, who was until September last year transport secretary, told BBC Breakfast: “He’s taken a very close, careful look at that second part of the HS2 line – I keep reading that HS2 will be scrapped, HS2 will actually run.
“That second part of the line, the balance that has to be made given that bit has not been built yet, is whether it makes sense to carry on building that given the world has changed.”
Mr Shapps argued that the decision shows the Prime Minister is not thinking about the “very short term” and is instead considering “difficult decisions”.
“It’s much harder to change tracks on something like this when you see the world’s changed than it is just to plough on, it will attract criticism when you do these things. He’s prepared to take those long-term, difficult decisions because he thinks we can get to a bright future by doing them,” he added.
Mr Shapps claimed that Manchester will still experience a “much faster journey time”, insisting it was due to the coronavirus pandemic that the curtailing was needed.
He said: “HS2 trains will run to Manchester, so they’ll still come into Manchester Piccadilly, they’ll still run to Leeds, there will still be a much faster journey time than there has been in the past.
“And not just because some of the section will be actually conventional high speed, or new high-speed rail, but also because even the older section can have further upgrades to, for example, its digital infrastructure which is the way the signalling works.”
He also argued at least some of the money saved will be used to benefit “large parts of the North”, amid suggestions cash for potholes, buses and train upgrades will be dished out.
The Tory mayor for the West Midlands, Andy Street, earlier said axing HS2 to Manchester would be “an incredible political gaffe” allowing opponents to accuse Mr Sunak of having decided to “shaft the North” while in Manchester.
Mr Street put off a trip to Munich to drum up investment for his region, instead choosing to stay in Manchester.
“We intend to listen to the PM’s speech and respond accordingly,” his spokesman said.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said the North would be condemned to lower economic growth as a result of HS2 cuts (Danny Lawson/PA)
Mr Sunak has repeatedly ducked questions about scaling back HS2 despite northern leaders, businesses and former Tory premiers Boris Johnson, Theresa May and David Cameron all warning against the move.
But the Prime Minister did on Tuesday say the costs of the project had gone “far beyond” what had been predicted, and the sums involved were “enormous”.
The HS2 scheme was given a budget of £55.7 billion in 2015 but costs have ballooned, with an estimate of up to £98 billion – in 2019 prices – in 2020.
Since then, soaring inflation will have pushed costs even higher.
Reports suggested he will give the go-ahead for the scheme to reach central London in Euston, rather than terminating in the western suburbs of Old Oak Common, after pressure from within the Cabinet.
In a conference centre built from a former railway station, Mr Sunak will reflect on his first year in No 10 and acknowledge a “feeling that Westminster is a broken system”.
“It isn’t anger, it is an exhaustion with politics. In particular, politicians saying things, and then nothing ever changing,” he is expected to say.
“And you know what? People are right. Politics doesn’t work the way it should.
“We’ve had 30 years of a political system which incentivises the easy decision, not the right one – 30 years of vested interests standing in the way of change.”
He will accuse Labour – recording a consistently double-digit lead over the Conservatives – of failing to “set out their stall” under Sir Keir Starmer and betting on voters’ “apathy”.
And Mr Sunak will argue he is the reformer, saying: “Politicians spent more time campaigning for change than actually delivering it.
“Our mission is to fundamentally change our country.”
Mr Sunak has struggled to keep the conference on track amid Tory criticism over HS2 and his predecessor Liz Truss drawing big conference crowds as she demanded immediate tax cuts to “make Britain grow again” a year after she left office after a chaotic 49 days.
The Prime Minister instead compared himself to Margaret Thatcher, who prioritised tackling inflation during her premiership between 1979 and 1990.
The Tory conference also saw Suella Braverman use her conference speech to warn of a “hurricane” of migrants, comments which caused unease among some senior Conservatives.
Mrs Braverman said: “The wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe in the 20th century was a mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming.
“Because today, the option of moving from a poorer country to a richer one is not just a dream for billions of people. It’s an entirely realistic prospect.”
But Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said: “We have to be very careful about how we explain and express immigration policies, so that people aren’t getting echoes of things that were less palatable.”
Rishi Sunak strips HS2 bosses of responsibility for Euston
Neil Lancefield, PA Transport Correspondent
Wed, 4 October 2023
HS2 Ltd has been stripped of responsibility for Euston station as there “must be some accountability for the mistakes made”, the Prime Minister said.
Rishi Sunak used his speech at the Conservative Party conference to confirm that the high-speed railway will reach the central London station after developing a plan that will generate cost savings of £6.5 billion.
The Government announced in February it was pausing HS2 work at Euston because costs had ballooned to £4.8 billion compared with an initial budget of £2.6 billion.
The Prime Minister said: “The management of HS2 will no longer be responsible for the Euston site.
“There must be some accountability for the mistakes made, for the mismanagement of this project.
“We will instead create a new Euston Development Zone, building thousands of new homes for the next generation of homeowners, new business opportunities and a station that delivers the capacity we need.
“In doing so, for the first time in the lifecycle of this project, we will have cut costs.
“The £6.5 billion of savings that Mark (Transport Secretary Mark Harper) and I are making will be taken from the Euston site and given to the rest of the country.”
A No 10 source said the £6.5 billion figure is a combination of replanning the project after considering “what is no longer required” and a developer contribution model such as the one used in Battersea, south-west London.
The PA news agency approached HS2 Ltd for a comment.
The website of the Euston Partnership, which already exists, said it attempts to “ensure a collective focus on driving forward benefits for all those who live, work and travel through Euston”.
Among its members are HS2 Ltd, the Department for Transport, Network Rail, Transport for London and Camden Council.
Old Oak Common in the suburbs of west London will be the high-speed railway’s initial terminus in the capital.
Sam Blewett and David Hughes, PA Political Staff
Wed, 4 October 2023
Rishi Sunak is expected to defy a backlash from Tory colleagues and northern leaders by abandoning the high-speed rail route to Manchester as he seeks to portray himself as a radical reformer.
The Prime Minister is expected to use his Conservative conference speech in the northern city to axe the HS2 leg from Birmingham as he criticises 30 years of a “broken” system incentivising “the easy decision, not the right one”.
With the Tories having been in charge for the majority of the last three decades, Mr Sunak will pitch himself as the man to “fundamentally change our country” ahead of an election expected next year.
He is widely expected to bring the axe down on the high-speed rail project that was due to connect Manchester with Birmingham, and on to central London, but has so far refused to confirm the plans.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak holds a meeting with his staff in his hotel room ahead of his keynote speech (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Mr Sunak is expected to pledge to reinvest around £36 billion of savings into road and rail schemes in the North and Midlands.
But critics, including Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, warned those schemes would not be feasible without key parts of the infrastructure that would have formed HS2.
Cabinet minister Grant Shapps said the public must wait for Mr Sunak’s speech to “hear exact confirmation” on HS2 as he sought to argue it will still run, but indicating not on high-speed rails between Birmingham and Manchester.
The Defence Secretary, who was until September last year transport secretary, told BBC Breakfast: “He’s taken a very close, careful look at that second part of the HS2 line – I keep reading that HS2 will be scrapped, HS2 will actually run.
“That second part of the line, the balance that has to be made given that bit has not been built yet, is whether it makes sense to carry on building that given the world has changed.”
Mr Shapps argued that the decision shows the Prime Minister is not thinking about the “very short term” and is instead considering “difficult decisions”.
“It’s much harder to change tracks on something like this when you see the world’s changed than it is just to plough on, it will attract criticism when you do these things. He’s prepared to take those long-term, difficult decisions because he thinks we can get to a bright future by doing them,” he added.
Mr Shapps claimed that Manchester will still experience a “much faster journey time”, insisting it was due to the coronavirus pandemic that the curtailing was needed.
He said: “HS2 trains will run to Manchester, so they’ll still come into Manchester Piccadilly, they’ll still run to Leeds, there will still be a much faster journey time than there has been in the past.
“And not just because some of the section will be actually conventional high speed, or new high-speed rail, but also because even the older section can have further upgrades to, for example, its digital infrastructure which is the way the signalling works.”
He also argued at least some of the money saved will be used to benefit “large parts of the North”, amid suggestions cash for potholes, buses and train upgrades will be dished out.
The Tory mayor for the West Midlands, Andy Street, earlier said axing HS2 to Manchester would be “an incredible political gaffe” allowing opponents to accuse Mr Sunak of having decided to “shaft the North” while in Manchester.
Mr Street put off a trip to Munich to drum up investment for his region, instead choosing to stay in Manchester.
“We intend to listen to the PM’s speech and respond accordingly,” his spokesman said.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said the North would be condemned to lower economic growth as a result of HS2 cuts (Danny Lawson/PA)
Mr Sunak has repeatedly ducked questions about scaling back HS2 despite northern leaders, businesses and former Tory premiers Boris Johnson, Theresa May and David Cameron all warning against the move.
But the Prime Minister did on Tuesday say the costs of the project had gone “far beyond” what had been predicted, and the sums involved were “enormous”.
The HS2 scheme was given a budget of £55.7 billion in 2015 but costs have ballooned, with an estimate of up to £98 billion – in 2019 prices – in 2020.
Since then, soaring inflation will have pushed costs even higher.
Reports suggested he will give the go-ahead for the scheme to reach central London in Euston, rather than terminating in the western suburbs of Old Oak Common, after pressure from within the Cabinet.
In a conference centre built from a former railway station, Mr Sunak will reflect on his first year in No 10 and acknowledge a “feeling that Westminster is a broken system”.
“It isn’t anger, it is an exhaustion with politics. In particular, politicians saying things, and then nothing ever changing,” he is expected to say.
“And you know what? People are right. Politics doesn’t work the way it should.
“We’ve had 30 years of a political system which incentivises the easy decision, not the right one – 30 years of vested interests standing in the way of change.”
He will accuse Labour – recording a consistently double-digit lead over the Conservatives – of failing to “set out their stall” under Sir Keir Starmer and betting on voters’ “apathy”.
And Mr Sunak will argue he is the reformer, saying: “Politicians spent more time campaigning for change than actually delivering it.
“Our mission is to fundamentally change our country.”
Mr Sunak has struggled to keep the conference on track amid Tory criticism over HS2 and his predecessor Liz Truss drawing big conference crowds as she demanded immediate tax cuts to “make Britain grow again” a year after she left office after a chaotic 49 days.
The Prime Minister instead compared himself to Margaret Thatcher, who prioritised tackling inflation during her premiership between 1979 and 1990.
The Tory conference also saw Suella Braverman use her conference speech to warn of a “hurricane” of migrants, comments which caused unease among some senior Conservatives.
Mrs Braverman said: “The wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe in the 20th century was a mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming.
“Because today, the option of moving from a poorer country to a richer one is not just a dream for billions of people. It’s an entirely realistic prospect.”
But Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said: “We have to be very careful about how we explain and express immigration policies, so that people aren’t getting echoes of things that were less palatable.”
Rishi Sunak strips HS2 bosses of responsibility for Euston
Neil Lancefield, PA Transport Correspondent
Wed, 4 October 2023
HS2 Ltd has been stripped of responsibility for Euston station as there “must be some accountability for the mistakes made”, the Prime Minister said.
Rishi Sunak used his speech at the Conservative Party conference to confirm that the high-speed railway will reach the central London station after developing a plan that will generate cost savings of £6.5 billion.
The Government announced in February it was pausing HS2 work at Euston because costs had ballooned to £4.8 billion compared with an initial budget of £2.6 billion.
The Prime Minister said: “The management of HS2 will no longer be responsible for the Euston site.
“There must be some accountability for the mistakes made, for the mismanagement of this project.
“We will instead create a new Euston Development Zone, building thousands of new homes for the next generation of homeowners, new business opportunities and a station that delivers the capacity we need.
“In doing so, for the first time in the lifecycle of this project, we will have cut costs.
“The £6.5 billion of savings that Mark (Transport Secretary Mark Harper) and I are making will be taken from the Euston site and given to the rest of the country.”
A No 10 source said the £6.5 billion figure is a combination of replanning the project after considering “what is no longer required” and a developer contribution model such as the one used in Battersea, south-west London.
The PA news agency approached HS2 Ltd for a comment.
The website of the Euston Partnership, which already exists, said it attempts to “ensure a collective focus on driving forward benefits for all those who live, work and travel through Euston”.
Among its members are HS2 Ltd, the Department for Transport, Network Rail, Transport for London and Camden Council.
Old Oak Common in the suburbs of west London will be the high-speed railway’s initial terminus in the capital.
Sunak axes HS2 to Manchester because ‘facts have changed’ and costs doubled
David Hughes, PA Political Editor
Wed, 4 October 2023
Rishi Sunak axed the HS2 project from Birmingham to Manchester and promised to use the £36 billion of savings to fund hundreds of other transport schemes.
The Prime Minister told his party’s conference, taking place in Manchester, the HS2 project’s costs had “more than doubled”.
He said: “I say to those who backed the project in the first place, the facts have changed.
“And the right thing to do when the facts change is to have the courage to change direction.”
As part of a drive to create a new northern network, he pledged to invest in a raft of other transport schemes.
“I am ending this long-running saga. I am cancelling the rest of the HS2 project and in its place, we will reinvest every single penny, £36 billion, in hundreds of new transport projects in the North and the Midlands, across the country.
“This means £36 billion of investment in the projects that will make a real difference across our nation.”
(PA Graphics)
Mr Sunak confirmed the scheme will run to Euston in central London, rather than terminating at Old Oak Common in the capital’s western suburbs, but promised to get a grip on the costs of the project.
He said the new plan for Euston will save £6.5 billion compared with HS2’s vision.
“The management of HS2 will no longer be responsible for the Euston site, “Mr Sunak said.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers his keynote speech at the Conservative Party annual conference in Manchester (Danny Lawson/PA)
“There must be some accountability for the mistakes made, for the mismanagement of this project.
“We will instead create a new Euston development zone building thousands of new homes for the next generation of homeowners, new business opportunities and a station that delivers the capacity we need.”
Confirmation of the decision to axe the northern leg of HS2 came despite pleas from Tory West Midland mayor Andy Street to back the scheme.
With Mr Street watching on, the Prime Minister said: “We will complete the line from Birmingham to Euston and yes, HS2 trains will still run here to Manchester and journey times will be cut between Manchester, Birmingham, London by 30 minutes.
“And I say this to Andy Street, a man I have huge admiration and respect for, I know we have different views on HS2.
“But I also know we can work together to ensure a faster, stronger spine, quicker trains and more capacity between Birmingham and Manchester.”
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, left to right, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt were listening to the Prime Minister’s keynote speech (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Mr Sunak – who presented himself as a politician who would take long-term decisions to fundamentally change the country – also set out a plan to effectively ban smoking.
He proposed raising the smoking age one year, every year, meaning a 14-year-old today could never legally be sold cigarettes.
The Prime Minister’s view is controversial within a party which has a tendency to reject measures which curtail individual freedom, and Mr Sunak said there would be a free vote in the Commons with his MPs not whipped to back the plan.
But he said: “We have a chance to cut cancer deaths by a quarter, significantly ease those pressures, and protect our children, and we should take it.”
He also set out plans for sweeping education reforms, replacing A-levels and T-levels with a new Advanced British Standard, with students covering more subjects.
After 13 years of Conservative rule, Mr Sunak faces a tough task to turn around the opinion polls ahead of a general election expected next year.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak embraces his wife Akshata Murty (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
The Prime Minister said there was an “undeniable sense that politics just doesn’t work the way it should” with a “broken system” but insisted he was the man to offer change.
Mr Sunak, who was introduced by wife Akshata Murty, told the conference in Manchester “change is difficult, particularly for those who disagree”.
But he said: “Where a consensus is false, we will challenge it. Where a vested interest is placing itself above the needs of the people, we will stop it.
“And where common sense is under attack from an organised assault we will defend it.”
David Hughes, PA Political Editor
Wed, 4 October 2023
Rishi Sunak axed the HS2 project from Birmingham to Manchester and promised to use the £36 billion of savings to fund hundreds of other transport schemes.
The Prime Minister told his party’s conference, taking place in Manchester, the HS2 project’s costs had “more than doubled”.
He said: “I say to those who backed the project in the first place, the facts have changed.
“And the right thing to do when the facts change is to have the courage to change direction.”
As part of a drive to create a new northern network, he pledged to invest in a raft of other transport schemes.
“I am ending this long-running saga. I am cancelling the rest of the HS2 project and in its place, we will reinvest every single penny, £36 billion, in hundreds of new transport projects in the North and the Midlands, across the country.
“This means £36 billion of investment in the projects that will make a real difference across our nation.”
(PA Graphics)
Mr Sunak confirmed the scheme will run to Euston in central London, rather than terminating at Old Oak Common in the capital’s western suburbs, but promised to get a grip on the costs of the project.
He said the new plan for Euston will save £6.5 billion compared with HS2’s vision.
“The management of HS2 will no longer be responsible for the Euston site, “Mr Sunak said.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers his keynote speech at the Conservative Party annual conference in Manchester (Danny Lawson/PA)
“There must be some accountability for the mistakes made, for the mismanagement of this project.
“We will instead create a new Euston development zone building thousands of new homes for the next generation of homeowners, new business opportunities and a station that delivers the capacity we need.”
Confirmation of the decision to axe the northern leg of HS2 came despite pleas from Tory West Midland mayor Andy Street to back the scheme.
With Mr Street watching on, the Prime Minister said: “We will complete the line from Birmingham to Euston and yes, HS2 trains will still run here to Manchester and journey times will be cut between Manchester, Birmingham, London by 30 minutes.
“And I say this to Andy Street, a man I have huge admiration and respect for, I know we have different views on HS2.
“But I also know we can work together to ensure a faster, stronger spine, quicker trains and more capacity between Birmingham and Manchester.”
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, left to right, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt were listening to the Prime Minister’s keynote speech (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Mr Sunak – who presented himself as a politician who would take long-term decisions to fundamentally change the country – also set out a plan to effectively ban smoking.
He proposed raising the smoking age one year, every year, meaning a 14-year-old today could never legally be sold cigarettes.
The Prime Minister’s view is controversial within a party which has a tendency to reject measures which curtail individual freedom, and Mr Sunak said there would be a free vote in the Commons with his MPs not whipped to back the plan.
But he said: “We have a chance to cut cancer deaths by a quarter, significantly ease those pressures, and protect our children, and we should take it.”
He also set out plans for sweeping education reforms, replacing A-levels and T-levels with a new Advanced British Standard, with students covering more subjects.
After 13 years of Conservative rule, Mr Sunak faces a tough task to turn around the opinion polls ahead of a general election expected next year.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak embraces his wife Akshata Murty (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
The Prime Minister said there was an “undeniable sense that politics just doesn’t work the way it should” with a “broken system” but insisted he was the man to offer change.
Mr Sunak, who was introduced by wife Akshata Murty, told the conference in Manchester “change is difficult, particularly for those who disagree”.
But he said: “Where a consensus is false, we will challenge it. Where a vested interest is placing itself above the needs of the people, we will stop it.
“And where common sense is under attack from an organised assault we will defend it.”
What is the impact of cutting HS2 north of Birmingham?
Neil Lancefield, PA Transport Correspondent
Wed, 4 October 2023
The Prime Minister has axed plans to extend HS2 beyond Birmingham.
Here the PA news agency answers 13 key questions on the situation:
– Are there doubts about Phase 1 between London and Birmingham?
The only current uncertainty is whether Old Oak Common in London’s western suburbs will be the permanent terminus in the capital or whether the line will reach Euston.
The construction site for the HS2 high-speed rail scheme in Euston, London (Victoria Jones/PA)
– What was the plan for HS2 north of Birmingham?
In Phase 2a, the high-speed railway was due to be extended from the West Midlands to Crewe.
It was then due to be built up to Manchester in Phase 2b, and to the East Midlands in another phase.
– Where will HS2 trains run now Phases 2a and 2b are cut?
Trains will serve central Birmingham on high-speed lines and connect to the West Coast Main Line (WCML) at the Handsacre Link in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
They will then call at locations such as Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland.
– What about plans for HS2 trains to serve the East Midlands and Yorkshire?
They have been scrapped.
– What is the problem with having HS2 trains on the WCML?
One of the main reasons HS2 was designed was to remove intercity trains from the WCML, which has very little spare capacity.
This would enable more stopping services and freight trains to run on the WCML.
That will not happen north of Birmingham without HS2.
(PA Graphics)
– Does this affect drivers?
The failure to provide more capacity for freight trains means benefits from reductions in road congestion will be lost.
– What about journey times?
Journey times between London Euston and Manchester were expected to be cut from around two hours and six minutes today to around one hour and 41 minutes under Phase 1 of HS2, although the initial London terminus will be Old Oak Common.
They were due to be slashed again to just one hour and 11 minutes once Phase 2b was completed.
For the Birmingham-Manchester route, journey times were due to be reduced from around one hour and 26 minutes today to just 41 minutes under Phase 2b.
– Has HS2 work started north of Birmingham?
The site of the Birmingham High Speed Railway construction site at Curzon Street in Birmingham (Jacob King/PA)
Phase 1 of HS2 includes a 19-mile section of route between Curdworth in Warwickshire and Handsacre, Staffordshire.
Some of this work has been paused since March, but much of the construction continues.
Recent examples include two bridges being installed near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
– What about Phases 2a and 2b?
Preparatory work for Phase 2a is ongoing, while some residents on the Phase 2b route have already voluntarily sold their homes to HS2 Ltd.
– How much has been spent on Phases 2a and 2b?
In an update to Parliament on June 19, rail minister Huw Merriman said £900 million had been spent on Phase 2a, and £700 million on Phase 2b.
Some residents on the Phase 2b route have already voluntarily sold their homes to HS2 Ltd (PA)
– What is Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR)?
It is a plan to improve east-west rail connections across the North.
– How is it linked to HS2?
NPR and HS2 were being designed so trains would run between the two networks and on to the wider railway system.
NPR was set to rely on some infrastructure built by HS2, including for a complicated section through central Manchester.
Scrapping HS2 north of Birmingham puts the finances of NPR in doubt.
– What about rail improvements in other parts of the country?
Progress on East West Rail – a scheme to re-establish a rail link between Cambridge and Oxford – is ongoing.
Neil Lancefield, PA Transport Correspondent
Wed, 4 October 2023
The Prime Minister has axed plans to extend HS2 beyond Birmingham.
Here the PA news agency answers 13 key questions on the situation:
– Are there doubts about Phase 1 between London and Birmingham?
The only current uncertainty is whether Old Oak Common in London’s western suburbs will be the permanent terminus in the capital or whether the line will reach Euston.
The construction site for the HS2 high-speed rail scheme in Euston, London (Victoria Jones/PA)
– What was the plan for HS2 north of Birmingham?
In Phase 2a, the high-speed railway was due to be extended from the West Midlands to Crewe.
It was then due to be built up to Manchester in Phase 2b, and to the East Midlands in another phase.
– Where will HS2 trains run now Phases 2a and 2b are cut?
Trains will serve central Birmingham on high-speed lines and connect to the West Coast Main Line (WCML) at the Handsacre Link in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
They will then call at locations such as Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland.
– What about plans for HS2 trains to serve the East Midlands and Yorkshire?
They have been scrapped.
– What is the problem with having HS2 trains on the WCML?
One of the main reasons HS2 was designed was to remove intercity trains from the WCML, which has very little spare capacity.
This would enable more stopping services and freight trains to run on the WCML.
That will not happen north of Birmingham without HS2.
(PA Graphics)
– Does this affect drivers?
The failure to provide more capacity for freight trains means benefits from reductions in road congestion will be lost.
– What about journey times?
Journey times between London Euston and Manchester were expected to be cut from around two hours and six minutes today to around one hour and 41 minutes under Phase 1 of HS2, although the initial London terminus will be Old Oak Common.
They were due to be slashed again to just one hour and 11 minutes once Phase 2b was completed.
For the Birmingham-Manchester route, journey times were due to be reduced from around one hour and 26 minutes today to just 41 minutes under Phase 2b.
– Has HS2 work started north of Birmingham?
The site of the Birmingham High Speed Railway construction site at Curzon Street in Birmingham (Jacob King/PA)
Phase 1 of HS2 includes a 19-mile section of route between Curdworth in Warwickshire and Handsacre, Staffordshire.
Some of this work has been paused since March, but much of the construction continues.
Recent examples include two bridges being installed near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
– What about Phases 2a and 2b?
Preparatory work for Phase 2a is ongoing, while some residents on the Phase 2b route have already voluntarily sold their homes to HS2 Ltd.
– How much has been spent on Phases 2a and 2b?
In an update to Parliament on June 19, rail minister Huw Merriman said £900 million had been spent on Phase 2a, and £700 million on Phase 2b.
Some residents on the Phase 2b route have already voluntarily sold their homes to HS2 Ltd (PA)
– What is Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR)?
It is a plan to improve east-west rail connections across the North.
– How is it linked to HS2?
NPR and HS2 were being designed so trains would run between the two networks and on to the wider railway system.
NPR was set to rely on some infrastructure built by HS2, including for a complicated section through central Manchester.
Scrapping HS2 north of Birmingham puts the finances of NPR in doubt.
– What about rail improvements in other parts of the country?
Progress on East West Rail – a scheme to re-establish a rail link between Cambridge and Oxford – is ongoing.
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