High Speed Two (HS2) is a proposed rail network to link London Euston to the West Midlands and Northern England. The plan is to increase the capacity and speed of journeys to London, which will dramatically bring the UK's Victorian railway infrastructure into the 21st century.

• The Government gave the go-ahead for a UK High Speed Rail network – called High Speed Two (HS2) – on 10 January 2012.
  
• HS2 will be a Y-shaped rail network providing direct, high capacity, high speed links between London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, with intermediate stations in the East Midlands (Toton) and South Yorkshire (Sheffield Meadowhall). There will also be direct links to the Continent via the High Speed 1 (HS1) line.
  
• HS2 will improve capacity across the rail network, shorten journey times between Britain’s major population centres, boost the economy and create thousands of jobs.
  
• HS2 will be built in two phases. The line between London and the West Midlands and a connection to High Speed 1 are expected to open in 2026 (HS2 Phase One), followed in 2032-33, by the onward legs to Manchester and Leeds.
  
• Phase One of HS2 will cost around £16.3bn to construct (2011 prices).
  
• The full network, including Phase Two and the link to High Speed 1 and the Channel Tunnel but without a direct Heathrow connection, will cost £33.1bn to construct (2011 prices).
  
• The construction costs of HS2 would be spread over two decades, and on this basis would involve an average level of annual spend of about £2 billion a year.
  

High Speed Two Limited is the company responsible for the realisation of HS2, and their website can be found here.

"We are determined to get cracking with HS2. We have already completed the consultation on Phase 1, and in 2013 we will begin seeking powers from Parliament to construct the line between London and the West Midlands. The first shovels will hit the ground in 2017 and the first high speed trains should be speeding along the tracks between Birmingham and London by 2026."

As a part of the HS2 proposal, redevelopment of London Euston is planned to transform into a vibrant destination for HS2 trains from the West Midlands and Northern England - further details here.

The planned network is highly controversial and is not without fierce opposition. A campaign known as STOP HS2 exists against the proposed development of this new rail network.

Stop HS2 claim that the strategic economic benefits of HS2 are unproven:

• It is not a low carbon solution.
  
• It has a business case based on false assumptions.
  
• It will benefit very few, at a time when a great many are expected to suffer.
  
• It will cause huge environmental damage.
  
• It will commit future generations to huge subsidies, increasing the national debt.
  
• It will not move much travel from planes or cars, and assumes many more journeys.
  
• It will make our country more dependent on the London economy.
  
• It will increase energy consumption.
  
• It has alternatives that deliver greater benefits at less cost and less damage.
  
• It does not learn from the financial failure of HS1, the only comparable project.
  
• It will crowd out crucial investment in transport, which is needed and beneficial.
  
• It ignores the Internet, which is changing the way we communicate, - and how mobile technologies enable people to work when travelling.
  

This clipping appeared in the Metro newspaper yesterday (14/05/13) -

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What are your opinions on the HS2 proposal? Do any members have friends or family who live or have businesses on the route and face disruption?

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News and latest developments on HS2 will be posted in this thread -

"The Secretary of State has extended the Phase Two EHS consultation. The new closing date is 20 May 2013."

Further details can be found here.