HS2 will benefit towns and cities north of Birmingham!


[Updated September 2020]

It is often inferred incorrectly by some news outlets and opponents of HS2 that it is "just a line from London to Birmingham", notwithstanding the fact that legislation is currently making its way through parliament for HS2 to reach Crewe by 2027 and Manchester and Leeds by 2033, it has, in fact, always been the case that HS2 will benefit towns and cities north of Birmingham, and indeed north of Manchester and Leeds, with benefits reaching as far north as Preston, York, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Technically speaking phase one should be described as a dedicated high-speed railway from London Euston, to a junction which joins the West Coast Main Line (WCML) located at Handsacre, north of Lichfield, with a high-speed spur to Birmingham City centre. Why is this definition important? Because first and foremost it more accurately describes what is currently being constructed, but also, critically it highlights the potential for services to travel further north by connecting HS2 to the WCML.

It has always been envisaged that what were called "classic compatible" trains would leave the core HS2 network and join the WCML initially at the junction constructed north of Lichfield, these trains would then be able to travel onwards (all be it at "conventional" speeds) to places such as Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh and stations in between.

[Update] This blog was written before the findings of the Oakervee Review were published, prior to which it was assumed HS2 services would join the WCML at Handsacre junction. It has since been suggested that classic compatible services should only commence after the construction of phase 2a, from Lichfield to Crewe. It is hoped that this link will be constructed by 2027, which would still mean that HS2 services will benefit towns and cities north of Birmingham before the completion of the full network to Manchester and Leeds, with connections further north to the WCML north of Warrington and ECML north of Leeds.

The Invitation to Tender (ITT) that was issued for the first tranche of units stipulates within the rolling stock procurement guidelines, that so-called “conventional-compatibles" shall be able to travel at 360kh/h whilst on the HS2 network, but crucially, must also be able to travel on existing railway lines and therefore be able to fit within existing infrastructure and stations.

Although the "conventional-compatibles" will be limited to a maximum speed of 200km/h (125mph) on existing rails, the fact that they will be able to travel at a maximum speed of up to 360km/h between London Euston and Crewe means that significant journey time savings will be achieved between the North and London as soon as HS2 phase 2a opens. More importantly, in addition to journey time savings, HS2 phase 1 and 2a will release vital capacity from the WCML, which means existing WCML services which currently stop at very few stations south of the West Midlands, will be able to stop at busy commuter towns along the WCML such Nuneaton, Rugby and Milton Keynes.

 


  
HS2 Ltd's map clearly shows dedicated HS2 services and "classic compatible" services which will use HS2 and existing lines.

HS2 will release capacity on the WCML and eventually the ECML (when phase 2b is complete), by providing express intercity services between places such as Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Preston and Glasgow to London when phase 2a opens. However, these services will not completely replace current WCML services, therefore passengers will benefit from extra capacity and more choice. With the completion of phase 2a existing WCML services will be able to call at more stations, providing improved regional links for towns and cities served by the WCML. With HS2 services providing fast express services from as far north as Scotland and towns and cities in between to London.
 
One of the main reasons that ticket prices are so expensive for peak time travel is because there is insufficient capacity on the WCML, especially on the section between the West Midlands and London Euston. This issue cannot be resolved easily or cheaply given that the WCML is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railways in Europe. Any further upgrades akin to WCML modernisation programme which took place between 1998 and 2008 would be immensely disruptive and incredibly costly.
 
The final estimated total for the modernisation programme currently stands at around £10bn. Yet despite further upgrades, renewals and even lengthening of trains since 2008 the WCML is now heavily congested. Passenger numbers on Virgin West Coast services alone more than doubled between 1997 and 2019, from 15m to 38m [1], between the period 2017/18, putting additional strain on a congested network which wasn't designed to cope with the volume of traffic that is using the line today, this includes express passenger services, local and regional passenger services and freight.



[1] https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/html/html/c7cf70e5-0514-44be-8ecd-0f1c89074cef

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