Britain's economic map would be redrawn, jobs created,
prosperity spread and the way businesses work and compete
transformed by a new high speed rail network, Transport Secretary
Philip Hammond said today as he launched a consultation on the
Government's proposals.
Launching one of the biggest public consultations ever
undertaken, the Transport Secretary also warned that
Britain's transport network cannot afford to be left
behind while competitor countries improve their transport infrastructure.
The Government is proposing a 'Y' shaped
network linking London, the West Midlands, Manchester and Leeds,
with stations in South Yorkshire and the East Midlands, and links
to existing lines to enable through-running services to other
cities including Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The
scheme would deliver around £44bn of benefits and would cut
journey times between London and other major cities by as much as
an hour.
Philip Hammond said:
"We must invest in Britain’s future. High speed rail
offers us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the way
we travel in the 21st century and would help us build a modern
economy fit for the future.
"Countries across Europe and Asia are already pressing
ahead with ambitious plans for high speed rail, while some of our
key rail arteries are getting ever closer to capacity. We cannot
afford to be left behind - investing in high speed rail now is
vital to the prosperity of future generations."
The Government believes a new high speed rail network would offer:
A better connected Britain: Bringing Birmingham within 49
minutes of London, and Manchester and Leeds within 80 minutes or
less. Birmingham and Manchester would be less than 50 minutes
apart and Leeds and Birmingham just over an hour. Travel from
London to Scotland’s major cities would take around 3 hours 30
minutes. Running 14 or more trains per hour, each with up to 1,100
seats and offering much higher levels of reliability than the
existing network, high speed rail could shift as many as 6 million
air trips and 9 million road trips a year on to rail.
A foundation for growth, jobs, prosperity and regeneration: The
increased speed, capacity and connectivity provided by a high
speed rail network would reshape our economic geography,
regenerate our urban centres and help to bridge the north-south
divide that has held us back in the past, allowing Britain to
build a modern economy fit for the future.
A new start for Britain's existing rail network: With
long-distance services transferred to the new high speed network,
large amounts of space would be freed up on the West Coast, East
Coast and Midland Main Lines, allowing for an expansion of
commuter, regional and freight services on these lines.
The Government estimates the cost of the complete
'Y' shaped network at £32bn and expects it to
generate economic benefits of around £44bn and fare revenues of
around £27bn over a 60-year period. The proposed network would be
delivered in two phases - the first a line from London to the West
Midlands, and the second the onward legs to Manchester and Leeds.
A direct link to Britain's existing high speed line,
High Speed 1 - which runs from London St Pancras to the Channel
Tunnel - is also proposed as part of the initial phase of the
scheme, to allow travel from cities linked to the high speed
network to the continent. Construction of a direct link to
Heathrow airport – which, under the proposals, would be built at
the same time as lines from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester -
would enable direct high speed services to run to and from the
airport, providing an attractive alternative to many short-haul
air journeys and bringing central Birmingham within an hour of
Heathrow, and Manchester and Leeds within around 70 and 75 minutes respectively.
In December 2010, the Government announced its proposed route for
the first phase of a high speed line between London and the West
Midlands. The consultation which begins today is both on that
proposed route and the Government's strategy for a wider
network. The consultation will run until 29 July and events will
take place in towns and cities along the 140-mile proposed route
between London and the West Midlands, as well as in major cities
across the country.
Subject to the outcome of this consultation, the Government
intends to secure powers to deliver each phase of its proposed
high speed network by means of the hybrid bill process.
Construction of any new network would be expected to begin early
in the next parliament, with the line to the West Midlands
completed by 2026 and the legs to Manchester and Leeds finished in 2032-2033.
Notes to Editors
Economic Case
1. The cost of constructing a Y shaped network linking London,
Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, as well as the Channel Tunnel
and Heathrow, is estimated to be £32 billion (in 2009 prices).
2. Over a 60-year period, HS2 Ltd’s analysis estimates that a
national high speed rail network would generate benefits with a
net present value of £43.7 billion. The net present cost to
Government over the same period of building and operating the line
would be £17.1 billion (calculated as total capital and operating
costs of £44.3 billion less fares revenues of £27.2 billion).
3. On this basis, the Government’s assessment is that the
proposed network would have a benefit:cost ratio of 2.6. The basis
on which this BCR has been calculated is explained in more detail
in the Economic Case for HS2, which is available on the
consultation website. However, it does not include the significant
strategic benefits relating to high speed rail’s potential for
supporting: job creation, regeneration and economic growth.
Environmental Mitigation
4. The Government is clear that high speed lines must be designed
sensitively and include mitigation measures to ensure any impacts
are reduced to the minimum. The Appraisal of Sustainability
prepared for the proposed London-West Midlands line shows that the
improvements delivered through sensitive design and mitigation can
be significant.
5. Following the Secretary of State’s autumn visits to the
proposed line of route, work to review and refine its recommended
alignment by HS2 Ltd has seen changes to around 50 per cent,
including moving it away from sensitive sites and settlements, and
lowering the line and using green bridges and tunnels to reduce
noise and visual impacts.
6. Along with additional work to assess opportunities for noise
mitigation, this has contributed to the number of properties which
would be expected to experience high noise levels reducing from
350 (in HS2 Ltd’s original report to Government) to around 10.
7. In the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB),
all but 1.2 miles would be either in tunnel, in cutting and/or
alongside the A413 main road.
8. If the proposed line is taken forward, then an Environmental
Impact Assessment would be carried out as part of the preparations
for the process of seeking powers.
9. Any high speed route proposals for subsequent lines from the
West Midlands to Manchester or Leeds will be subject to public
consultation in due course, and Appraisals of Sustainability would
be prepared and published to inform those processes.
Consultation Details
10. The consultation on the Government's high speed rail
proposals runs until 29 July. You can find out more about the
consultation by visiting http://highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk.
11. A full suite of detailed supporting documents, including the
economic case for high speed rail and a full Appraisal of
Sustainability is also available on the website.
12. In the coming months, roadshows will be held along the
proposed London-West Midlands line of route. You can see the full
timetable of events on the consultation website.
The Government's proposed route
13. The Government's proposed network would be built in
phases. Phase 1 would comprise an initial London-Birmingham line
including a direct link to High Speed One (HS1). This would run
from a rebuilt Euston station to a new Birmingham City Centre
station at Curzon Street. A Crossrail interchange station would be
built at Old Oak Common in West London, providing direct
connections to: the West End, City and Docklands via Crossrail; to
the South West and Wales via the Great Western Main Line; and to
Heathrow via the Heathrow Express.
14. A second interchange station would be constructed where the
line of the route passes the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and
Birmingham Airport close to Junction 6 of the M42. It would offer
direct links to Birmingham Airport, the National Exhibition Centre
and the M6 and M42. A direct link to HS1 would be provided in
tunnel from Old Oak Common to the existing North London Line, from
where existing infrastructure can be used to reach the HS1 line
north of St Pancras.
15. Phase 2 would see the new high speed line running on to
Manchester and separately to Leeds. HS2 Ltd is currently engaged
in detailed planning work for options for these routes, including
stations in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire, as well as for
a spur link to Heathrow. Connections on to the existing West and
East Coast main lines would also be included, allowing direct high
speed train services to be operated to cities including Glasgow,
Edinburgh, Newcastle and Liverpool. Further consideration will
also be given to extending the network subsequently to these and
other major destinations.
Blight and Compensation 16. Under existing planning law,
qualifying property owners of land within the safeguarded area for
any future high speed line would have access to statutory blight
provisions. These provisions would likely take effect at such time
as safeguarding directions were issued in respect of any route.
17. Once any future high speed line had been open for a year,
property owners would also be eligible to claim statutory
compensation under Part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973.
18. The Government is considering what additional measures may be
appropriate to help those whose properties were unlikely to need
to be compulsorily purchased in order to build a new line, but who
may still experience a significant loss in the value of their
property as a result of its proximity. Further details are
provided at Annex A in the consultation document.
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