History of High Speed 2


The history of High Speed 2 is the background to the planned construction of High Speed 2, a new high-speed railway in Great Britain that was originally planned to connect London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds 100% on high speed track, and Glasgow, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sheffield using a mix of high speed track and existing conventional track.
Construction was planned in two prime phases:
  1. Phase 1 would be from London to Handsacre near Lichfield connecting to the north south West Coast Main Line and a branch to Birmingham.
  2. Phase 2 would consist of the two legs of the Y-shaped route with the Y splitting north of Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds with connections to the West Coast Main Line south of Wigan, East Coast Main Line south of York and the Midland Main Line at Clay Cross.
  3. Phase 2 sub phases: Phase 2 was split into two sub phases, 2a and 2b. Phase 2a would have been from Handsacre to Crewe, with phase 2b being the remainder of phase 2. Services were to start on phase 2a on in 2027, and the remainder of phase 2b by 2033.
Work on Phase 1 began in 2019, with passenger services planned to commence in 2026.
The route to Leeds was cancelled in November 2021, with the eastern branch cut back to end at East Midlands Parkway railway station, south of Nottingham. In June 2022 the link to the West Coast Main Line at Golborne south of Wigan was cancelled. In October 2023, the route to Manchester was cancelled, leaving only phase 1, the route from London to Handsacre running onto the WCML with a branch to Birmingham.

Background

High-speed rail has been expanding across Europe since the 1980s, with several countries – notably France, Spain and Germany – investing heavily in new lines capable of operating at over. In 2009 there were reportedly of high-speed line in operation in Europe; a further were under construction and another were planned.
High-speed rail arrived in the United Kingdom with the opening in 2003 of the first part of High Speed 1, a link between London and the Channel Tunnel. The development of a second high-speed line was proposed in 2009 by the UK government to address capacity constraints on the West Coast Main Line, which was forecast to be at full capacity in 2025. Most of the British rail network was built in the Victorian era; the fastest speeds are. A document published by the Department for Transport in January 2009 described an increase of 50% in rail passenger traffic and an increase of 40% in freight in the preceding ten years in the UK and detailed several infrastructure problems. The report proposed that new high-speed lines be constructed to address these issues and, following assessment of various options, concluded that the most appropriate initial route for a new line was from London to the West Midlands.

Initial plans

High Speed Two Limited

In January 2009 the UK government announced the creation of High Speed Two Limited. Sir David Rowlands, was appointed as chairman and asked to examine the case for a new high-speed line and present a potential route between London and the West Midlands. The government report suggested that the line could be extended to reach Scotland.
Drawing on consultations carried out for the Department for Transport and Network Rail, HS2 Ltd would provide advice on options for a Heathrow International interchange station, access to central London, connectivity with HS1 and the existing rail network, and financing and construction, and report to the government on the first stage by the end of 2009.
In August 2009 Network Rail published its own study independent of HS2's work, outlining somewhat different proposals for the expansion of the railway network, which included a new high-speed rail line between London and Glasgow/Edinburgh, following a route through the West Midlands and the North-West of England.
For the HS2 report, a route was investigated to an accuracy of. In December 2009 HS2 Ltd presented its report to the government. The study investigated the possibility of links to Heathrow Airport and connections with Crossrail, the Great Western Main Line, and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, as displayed in the map shown.
On 11 March 2010 the HS2 report and supporting studies were published, together with the government's command paper on high-speed rail.

Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government review

The Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition, on taking office in May 2010, undertook a review of HS2 plans inherited from the previous government. The Conservative Party in opposition had backed the idea of a high-speed terminus at with a direct link to Heathrow Airport and had adopted a policy to connect London, Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham with Heathrow by high-speed rail with construction starting in 2015. In March 2010, Conservative Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers had stated "The idea that some kind of Wormwood Scrubs International station is the best rail solution for Heathrow is just not credible".
The new Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, asked Lord Mawhinney, a former Conservative Transport Secretary, to conduct an urgent review of the proposed route. The coalition government wished the high-speed line to be routed via Heathrow Airport, an idea rejected by HS2 Ltd.
Mawhinney's conclusions contradicted Villiers' view and Conservative policy in opposition, stating that HS2 should not go to Heathrow Airport until it reaches northern England. Routing the whole line via Heathrow would add seven minutes to the journey time of all services.
In December 2008 an article in The Economist noted the increasing political popularity of high-speed rail in Britain as a solution to transport congestion, and as an alternative to unpopular schemes such as road-tolls and runway expansion, but concluded that its future would depend on it being commercially viable. In November 2010 Philip Hammond stated that government support for HS2 did not require it to break even directly, what The Economist had called the "financial viability" test for new rail infrastructure:
If we used financial accounting we would never have any public spending, we would build nothing ... Financial accounting would strike a dagger through the whole case for public sector investment.

Public consultation

On 20 December 2010 the government published a slightly revised line of route for public consultation, based on a Y-shaped route from London to Birmingham with branches to Leeds and Manchester, as originally put forward by Lord Adonis as Secretary of State for Transport under the previous Labour government, with alterations designed to minimise the visual, noise, and other environmental impacts of the line. In a statement to parliament, the Secretary of State confirmed that the first phase of construction would include a high-speed line from London to Birmingham as well as a connection to High Speed 1.
High-speed lines north of the West Midlands would be built in later stages, and a link to Heathrow Airport would be initially provided by a connection at Old Oak Common, with a high-speed link to the airport to be added later. The high-speed line would connect to the existing network, allowing through trains from London to northern destinations. The consultation documents were published on 11 February 2011 with the consultation period set to run until July 2011.
The proposals for HS2 attracted criticism from various campaign groups and political organisations. A number of pressure groups were formed to protest against the construction of HS2, among them Stop HS2, AGAHST and the HS2 Action Alliance, and protest events were organised in communities along the proposed route.

Decision to proceed with HS2

In January 2012 the Secretary of State for Transport, Justine Greening, announced that HS2 would go ahead. It would comprise a "Y-shaped" network with stations at London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and the East Midlands, conveying up to 26,000 people each hour at speeds of up to. It would be built in two stages. Phase One would be a route from London to the West Midlands, to be constructed by 2026. Phase Two, from Birmingham to both Leeds and Manchester, would be constructed by 2033; consultation on this phase would begin in early 2014, with a final route chosen by the end of 2014. Additional tunnelling and other measures to meet local communities' and environmental concerns were also announced. The legislative process would be achieved through two hybrid bills, one for each phase.

Preparation bill

The High Speed Rail Bill was passed by 350 votes to 34 in the House of Commons on 31 October 2013. The bill then faced further scrutiny in the House of Lords. This legislation releases funds to pay for surveys, buy property and compensate evicted residents. On 21 November 2013, royal assent was obtained and the bill became law as the High Speed Rail Act 2013.

Hybrid bill

To implement the HS2 proposals, the government introduced on behalf of HS2 Ltd two hybrid bills, one for each phase, as the railway will impact on private individuals and organisations along the route or elsewhere. Each bill is required to address the environmental impact and how this will be mitigated, and to allow individuals affected to petition parliament to seek amendments or assurances. The timeline required for the legislation relating to the construction and operation of Phase One to be introduced to parliament towards the end of 2013 and to pass into law by the spring of 2015. Parliament's second reading of the hybrid bill for Phase One took place on 28 April 2014 and was approved by 452 votes to 41. The hybrid bill for phase 2 will be prepared for January 2015.
A legal requirement of the hybrid bill is the production and deposition of an environmental impact assessment to identify the significant impacts on the community, property, landscape, visual amenity, biodiversity, surface and ground water, archaeology, traffic, transport, waste and resources. Proposals to avoid, reduce or remedy significant adverse impacts through mitigation measures are also required. HS2 Ltd announced its intention to consult on the 'scope and methodology' of the EIA in April 2012 and based on this will publish a draft environmental statement on which it intends to consult with national bodies and local authorities and community forums along the route, in the spring of 2013.
On 23 March 2016, the House of Commons passed the HS2 hybrid bill at its third reading. On 24 January 2017, the Bill went to the report stage in the House of Lords and this was followed by the Third Reading in the House of Lords. The Bill received Royal Assent on 23 February 2017, and passed into law as the High Speed Rail Act 2017.