Crewe HS2 route out for safeguarding consultation

Department for Transport is starting a nine week consultation on safeguarding the HS2 Phase Two route from Fradley to Crewe, Secretary of State Patrick McLoughlin has announced.

Jackie Whitelaw
04 November 2014

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The consultation will pave the way for the protection of this corridor of land and ensure new development in the area does not affect the ability to build and operate HS2 in the future, the DfT said.

“Other destinations served by the proposed HS2 Phase Two route, on both the eastern and western side of the country, should be reassured that we continue to be committed to a Y shaped HS2 network delivered as quickly as possible.”

A final decision has yet to be made on the HS2 Phase Two route, however  McLoughlin considered it “appropriate” to consult now on issuing safeguarding directions for this part of the route.

He said: “The evidence so far indicates that routing HS2 to Manchester via Crewe would be the right strategic option. This is still to be confirmed, but undertaking this consultation will allow us to deliver our plans more quickly once a decision is made.”

If the decision is taken to go ahead, safeguarding directions are expected to be published in spring 2015. People who own or occupy land affected will then have the right to ask the government to buy their property.

In March Sir David Higgins’ HS2 Plus report identified that the benefits of high speed rail could reach the north sooner if Phase Two of the railway were accelerated and the line was extended to a new regional transport hub at Crewe by 2027, six years earlier than planned. He confirmed his commitment to the Crewe route over a Stoke on Trent option in his Rebalancing Britain report last month.

According to DfT a route via Crewe has lower costs and higher benefits than other options, including good connectivity to North Wales, the Midlands, the north and Scotland.

In a statement to the House of Commons McLoughlin said: “HS2 Ltd has examined hundreds of options for the whole route for the western leg of Phase Two across five criteria: constructability, sustainability, journey time, cost, and demand. HS2 Ltd has refined these options into a number of recommendations through a sifting process that balanced these different criteria. Following a careful consideration of the suggestions put forward by consultees, including those put forward by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, HS2 Ltd advice is that on the analysis done so far (and there is more to do) the Crewe route looks likely to be the right route choice.”

He added:” A connection from the high speed line to the West Coast Main Line at Crewe would allow towns across the north west to benefit from HS2 with trains running direct to Crewe, Liverpool, Carlisle, Lancaster, Preston, Wigan, Warrington, Chester and Runcorn. Crewe would also permit ready access to HS2 to North Wales. HS2 Ltd’s analysis recognises the importance of serving these areas too.”

The government remains committed to a Y route for HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester and Leeds, McLoughlin said. “Other destinations served by the proposed HS2 Phase Two route, on both the eastern and western side of the country, should be reassured that we continue to be committed to a Y shaped HS2 network delivered as quickly as possible.”