Great Manchester (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Mayor Andy Burnham, who has been performing on a private sector-led alternative to HS2, expressed Northern leaders need to rally around a 2034 deadline.
Ministers must come up with a substitute for the axed leg of HS2 and construct it within the next ten years or face “chaos”, Northern leaders have cautioned. Labour has stated it will not revive the section of the high-speed rail scheme beyond Birmingham and will instead concentrate on improving east-to-west transport links in the North of England.
Backers of HS2 had hoped the shift in government would breathe fresh life into the second phase of the rail link, which was dumped by Rishi Sunak last October. However, the Government affirmed in the King’s Speech in July: “We are not reversing the decision to cancel the second phase of HS2.”
How Will Northern Leaders Address the HS2 Cancellation?
Northern leaders, including the Labour mayors for Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Liverpool, met to operate on a new strategy to lobby for the progress they would like to see.
What Are the Risks if HS2 Is Not Replaced?
A report delivered to them by Transport for the North – which represents public and private sector voices – emphasised that a replacement for HS2 remains essential. “The West Coast Main Line is the most dynamic mixed-use railway in Europe, carrying a myriad of intercity, regional, local, freight and heritage services each day,” it stated.
“HS2 was designed to release capacity on the route by segregating intercity services, addressing several critical bottlenecks on the route. With the revocation of HS2, alternative interventions will be needed.”
How Critical Is the West Coast Main Line to Northern Rail?
By 2034, HS2 services will be running between London and Birmingham and will then be utilising the existing West Coast Main Line (WCML) to take passengers on to Manchester, the North West and Scotland. This will operate up capacity on the WCML and there are “limited” options to improve it to maintain current levels of non-HS2 services, the report says.
Andy Burnham, who has been labouring on a private sector-led alternative to HS2, spoke Northern leader’s need to mobilise around the 2034 deadline. “I think that will hurt all of us,” he stated. “If HS2 starts running trains to the north of England without any changes to the West Coast Main Line, that I think is just chaos. The window to start putting in improvements… it’s a decade away.
“Therefore they’ve got to start doing it and planning it now. I do think we’ve got to confront the Government and the Department for Transport with that date and start operating back from it… because I just see chaos if we don’t react to it.”