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) -

[attachment=4431]

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?

---

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.

The proposed journey times via HS2 from the North East will not be much quicker than they already are now.
When you take into account the newer stock which will be running on the ECML by then, the difference will be negligible.

When you look at current route options, it is possible to get off and transfer onto local trains. Very few options with HS2.

It's not worth the money for what it'll deliver. The money would be better spent improving what we've got, bringing rail to places without, and reducing the insane cost of rail travel.

P.s. I hope that's the Euston tap I still see on the far right of that illustration! Well worth a visit, and possibly the most compact pub I've ever been in.

Yet more ill-informed bystanders - the £32billion being spend on HS2 can only be spent on HS2 by the DfT. If HS2 were to be cancelled, that money would be reallocated to another Government department. So, basically, HS2 is the only rail project that money will be spent on.

I'm not sure how voicing an opinion makes anyone ill-informed unless the information provided is factually wrong.

Looking at the comments from myself and aureolin, there isn't anything to suggest we are wrong.
Unless you can prove me wrong regarding train times or that aureolin is wrong by suggesting money should be spent on existing projects instead?

If you are correct and that £32billion is ring fenced solely for HS2, then hopefully it will be cancelled and the government can spend it on something else instead, something that will be worth investing in and which will benefit the entire country.

(16 May 2013, 7:13 am)Kuyoyo wrote Yet more ill-informed bystanders - the £32billion being spend on HS2 can only be spent on HS2 by the DfT. If HS2 were to be cancelled, that money would be reallocated to another Government department. So, basically, HS2 is the only rail project that money will be spent on.

Ill-informed bystanders...?

Yes. The money is ring-fenced for that project - fact. Nobody is arguing that, but the money was only ring-fenced for that project because it was the only realistic bid the government were interested in submitting. It actually reminds me of Thatcher's approach to Europe a bit, where that any advice she was given essentially fell upon deaf ears - because she wasn't interested in doing anything other than what she wanted to do. Sod the consequences.

I stand by my point. Money would be better spent elsewhere, with more economic and social benefits.

Despite criticism from the National Audit Office, the Department for Transport is kicking on with the development of plans for the High Speed 2 rail scheme.

The DfT has published two more consultation documents for the route between London and the West Midlands – phase one of HS2. These are the draft environmental statement (ES) and the design refinements consultations.

Publication of the draft ES is considered a key step towards delivering the Hybrid Bill for the HS2 route between London and the West Midlands. The formal ES will be published alongside the Hybrid Bill later this year, with refinements reflecting consultation responses.

The draft ES details likely significant environmental impacts and the plans to mitigate them.

Although a report from the NAO today said that the government had failed to make the case for the project (see earlier report here), transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin insisted that it was “vital”.

He said: “HS2 is absolutely vital for this country, providing a huge economic boost which will generate a return on investment that will continue paying back for generations to come. But you cannot build a new railway line without causing some disruption.

“What we can and will do is ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum by using the very latest design and construction methods.

“We are confident that through continued hard work we can ensure that many of the feared effects of HS2 never materialise. We also know that the best design for the scheme can only be reached with the input of local communities, environmental groups and all levels of government."

Alongside the draft ES, the DfT has published a series of design refinements for the HS2 route between London and the West Midlands, for further consultation.

Environmental mitigation measures set out include using technology to cut the noise of the trains, such as by eliminating the gaps between train carriages to boost their aerodynamic efficiency.

Drawing on Japanese expertise, HS2 trains could also be fitted with wheel farings, like on a Citroen DS car, to cut the noise made by the wheels on rails – the biggest source of noise on any electrified railway.

Around 70% of the line’s surface sections between London and the West Midlands will be insulated by cuttings, landscaping and fencing, helping it to harmonise with the landscape.

Earth removed for track laying could be used beside it as noise-absorbing bunds, cutting the amount of earth that has to be transported and therefore reducing the number of tipper truck journeys which create congestion, disruption and pollution.

The most significant proposed design refinement being consulted on for phase one includes tunnelling under Ealing and Northolt in northwest London, and at Bromford in the West Midlands. Also published for consultation are revised proposals to redevelop and improve Euston Station to accommodate high speed trains for HS2 without having to knock down and rebuild the entire station.

Source: http://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/ne...-criticism

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22941908 A think tanks thoughts on HS2

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24721214

The government's latest business case for the
HS2 high-speed rail link has slightly lowered
the amount of benefit it predicts relative to the
cost.

http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-e...rs-6303347

High Speed rail costs are 'bonkers' warns North East LEP chief
14 Nov 2013 08:02
North East local enterprise partnership chief hits out at the Government's high speed rail plans

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The Government's proposed high-speed rail line is still causing controversyThe Government's proposed high-speed rail line is still causing controversy
A £50bn high speed rail plan to reduce Newcastle to London journeys by 15 minutes is “bonkers on the biggest scale possible,” a former senior Treasury official has said.

Ed Twiddy, chief executive of the North East local enterprise partnership responsible for creating thousands of jobs, said it was incredible that the Government was spending money on a project which brought such little gain to the regions.

He was speaking as the partnership set out how it has spent millions of pounds on key employment sites across the region.

Business leaders had gathered in Durham to hear the partnership go over some of the issues still facing the region, including:

A delay in bringing in offshore jobs to Tyneside blamed on Government energy policy,
A warning that UKTI was failing the region,
And a call for unity in fighting for the region’s needs.
Mr Twiddy, who was deputy director of local government in the Treasury, said the 15 minutes improvement to journey times as a result of a new high speed rail network would be “taken back from you” by an expected increase in freight rail use as a result of the Port of Tyne successfully growing its business.

The chief executive said the region was right to put the £200m reopening of the Leamside line on its list of must-win priorities, saying that “if we get that we will have a line for freight running parallel to the East Coast Main Line, meaning the ECML can be left to do what it was intended to do.”

North East LEP chief executive Edward Twiddy speaking as Paul Woolston looks onNorth East LEP chief executive Edward Twiddy
Steve Brock

Adding extra caution on the high speed rail finances, he said: “It’s not even a very innovative piece of infrastructure. It is the sort of thing that has been going on in Japan for 30 years, so we are spending all this money for no innovation. We are spending money on something the rest of the world already has, we can’t export that skill.”

Mr Twiddy was speaking before business leaders gather to see what the partnership has achieved. Set up by the coalition Government, it is increasingly tasked with leading on major infrastructure and job creation spending.

He was asked to explain why some Enterprise Zones sites had yet to bring in big name businesses despite generous tax allowances, suggesting wasted opportunities to reduce the region’s unemployment.

The chief executive said there had been no shortage of inquiries, but had yet to be enough people finish the deal. He pointed to government offshore wind energy policy as creating some uncertainties for firms looking to build huge turbines many miles out to sea. And he added: “Obviously energy firms looking to take long term decisions will also be aware of the potential freeze in energy prices. While that is going on it is inevitable that some firms will think they don’t have the clarity they need for decision that needs 25 years or more to see a return.”

Many of the firms attending the Durham County Cricket Club event welcomed criticisms of UKTI, the national quango tasked with bringing in foreign investment. A group representing the chemical industry said the two enquiries a month they used to receive when the region had its own development agency had “reduced to zero.”

This, Mr Twiddy said, was because UKTI had no geographical targets, adding that “there is a national target and they can meet that without even leaving the M25.”

His comments echo those of new Newcastle Gateshead Initiative chairman Paul Callaghan, who last month told The Journal he was concerned UKTI was not doing enough for North East job creation.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/r...-quit.html

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27971552

As HS2 is yet to be finalised, Gideon today announced his big, bold idea of HS3, linking Manchester to Leeds.

So HS2, will link Leeds and Manchester to Birmingham and London - whilst having a HS3 linking the two cities together.

Whatever the flaws are in relation to HS2, it seems the Government still haven't cottoned on to the idea that there are people, towns, cities and businesses beyond Leeds and Manchester...

(23 Jun 2014, 8:04 pm)Andreos Constantopolous wrote http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27971552

As HS2 is yet to be finalised, Gideon today announced his big, bold idea of HS3, linking Manchester to Leeds.

So HS2, will link Leeds and Manchester to Birmingham and London - whilst having a HS3 linking the two cities together.

Whatever the flaws are in relation to HS2, it seems the Government still haven't cottoned on to the idea that there are people, towns, cities and businesses beyond Leeds and Manchester...

Or resolved the issue with transport outside of London not integrating with one another. We'll spend millions on a rail link to get people between Birmingham (which is a dump anyway), and London quicker. Yet Joe Bloggs is still unable to use their Megarider on the Metro or an Arriva bus.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28672424

North/South divide revealed.

High Speed Two has entered the news again. Couple of articles given below:


New £30 million HS2 benefit scheme 'not enough' say opponents
Read more: http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/115...s/?ref=rss

UK high-speed railway line contest for £10bn in contracts begins

Read more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/07b91996-51e9-...z3G9JZfALC
Also copied below...

Lucrative work for the UK’s proposed high-speed railway line will be launched this week when HS2, the company set up to promote the project, holds a sold-out conference ahead of releasing £10bn of tenders.


Significant contracts, including a £60m job assessing the condition of the land between Birmingham and London, are due to be awarded next month, with the rest to follow soon after as competition accelerates for work on the line.


More than 1,000 companies are signed up for two conferences in London and Manchester during the next fortnight, in a guest list that reads like a who’s who of the construction and engineering industry, including ArcelorMittal, Siemens, Bechtel and Mace.


Other contracts due to be released during the next few months include one worth £2.9bn for early stage tunnelling work; £2.7bn for the surface route; £2.6bn for stations; £600m for enabling works; £1.5bn for railway systems; and £350m for design services.


The tenders come even though Britain’s second high-speed railway line remains controversial and is not due to receive Royal Assent until after the election.

Construction is not expected to start on the first phase of HS2, between London and Birmingham, until 2017, with completion due in 2026. A second Y-shaped section from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds is due to be finished in 2032-33.


MPs are still in the process of scrutinising nearly 2,000 objections to the HS2 bill. A committee of six MPs will spend months listening to evidence from those who will be affected by the project.


Despite this, increasing amounts of preparation work are going ahead. HS2 Ltd already employs 1,000 staff and is hiring a person every day. It has spent £3bn since it was set up by the government in 2012. The cost of the project in its entirety is estimated at £42.6bn over 20 years, making it one of the most expensive railways in the world. A further £7.5bn is needed for the high-speed trains.


Competition for the contracts is expected to be intense, with the biggest international construction and transport companies already seeking work. East Japan Railway, a Japanese rail network operator, has opened an office in London, in part to prepare for work on HS2, while Hitachi, a Japanese rail company, has moved the headquarters of its rail business to Britain in what is seen as a pre-emptive move to win the contract to build 180mph trains for the line.

The project will provide a lifeline for the construction industry, which has struggled during the recession.


Simon Kirby, one of several former Network Rail executives who has joined HS2, said it was “determined to build on Crossrail’s success where 97 per cent of contracts were placed with UK-based firms”.


But Martin Blaiklock, a consultant who is also a former director of utilities at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, has challenged this assumption. According to his research, just 27 per cent – or £1.75bn out of £6bn – of the design and construction contracts for Crossrail by value went to UK owned and controlled companies.


Although much of this work will have gone to UK-based subcontractors, who employ staff in the UK, ownership is important because it helps to determine who will accrue long-term gains – such as skills and management – from working on the project and whether they are paying corporation tax in the UK.

Mr Blaiklock said: “Given the results of such analysis for Crossrail, it seems highly questionable, therefore, as to how much experience and knowhow on High Speed 2 will benefit the UK.”

(23 Jun 2014, 8:04 pm)Andreos1 wrote Whatever the flaws are in relation to HS2, it seems the Government still haven't cottoned on to the idea that there are people, towns, cities and businesses beyond Leeds and Manchester...

Or between!

HS2: Stoke-on-Trent launches business case for station
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sto...e-29619287


Some other news articles related to HS2 yesterday/today too...

Stoke-on-Trent launches business case for HS2 hub
Read more: http://buyingbusinesstravel.com/news/152...se-hs2-hub

Staffordshire HS2 village criticises council's 'compromise'
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sto...e-29610812

(16 Oct 2014, 3:40 pm)Dan wrote Or between!

HS2: Stoke-on-Trent launches business case for station
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sto...e-29619287


Some other news articles related to HS2 yesterday/today too...

Stoke-on-Trent launches business case for HS2 hub
Read more: http://buyingbusinesstravel.com/news/152...se-hs2-hub

Staffordshire HS2 village criticises council's 'compromise'
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sto...e-29610812

I think any decent-sized town or city could launch a business case as to why they should be included on the HS2 network.

While I'm not opposed to HS2 per se, I would much favour a major overhaul of the entire rail-network using the money ring-fenced for HS2. 

 

City Diary: Taxi! Leeds transport boss shuns the train after top-tier HS2 dinner
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comme...inner.html

Stoke on Trent mounts bid to be on HS2 route
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2014/10/1...s-bid.html

Makes me want to have a game of Railroad Tycoon!

Map of Highspeed rail across Europe.

Quite interesting that Spain has quite a high amount of track >125mph, but the economy of the country us suffering economically.
Will HS2 be the cure it is predicted to be in the UK?

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29768921

Crewe likely to be chosen as location for additional station over Stoke.

http://metro.co.uk/2014/11/15/japans-lev...s-4949728/

Makes HS2 look like a crawl!

(15 Nov 2014, 10:20 pm)Andreos1 wrote http://metro.co.uk/2014/11/15/japans-lev...s-4949728/

Makes HS2 look like a crawl!

Agreed. This is the standard of railway design Britain should be aspiring towards in my opinion. At over 300 mph, London to Newcastle could be done in under an hour and a half with time included for stops.  

(16 Nov 2014, 12:48 pm)AdamY wrote Agreed. This is the standard of railway design Britain should be aspiring towards in my opinion. At over 300 mph, London to Newcastle could be done in under an hour and a half with time included for stops.  

Won't ever happen =( 

The train design its self... is quite good, imagine it doing the east coast main line! 

Train itself, sounds quite quiet. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34341352
Gideon urges China to bid for HS2 contracts.

Don't want High Speed 2..... pointless and a waste of money, it only works in the like of Japan because they built it years ago.... lol

(24 Sep 2015, 9:07 am)Michael wrote Don't want High Speed 2..... pointless and a waste of money, it only works in the like of Japan because they built it years ago.... lol

I think there are a few flaws in the whole idea.
The fact Gideon is encouraging Chinese firms to bid (that may or may not include Chinese steel), at the possible expense of British firms (and locally produced steel), sort of makes the situation worse.

I am not sure if he has seen the irony in his claims that HS2, could boost the British Economy. The economy could be in a worse state, as a result of the continued obsession to bring foreign investment into the country.

(24 Sep 2015, 9:25 am)Andreos1 wrote I think there are a few flaws in the whole idea.
The fact Gideon is encouraging Chinese firms to bid (that may or may not include Chinese steel), at the possible expense of British firms (and locally produced steel), sort of makes the situation worse.

I am not sure if he has seen the irony in his claims that HS2, could boost the British Economy. The economy could be in a worse state, as a result of the continued obsession to bring foreign investment into the country.

Defo, they should be looking to use people from the UK to build it, basically saying we're not good enough for the HS2... no doubt that has angered a few people! 

HS2 won't though... its only going to take 30 minutes off from the Midlands to London... that's pointless....


Look at America... they want to build one from LA to Las Vegas! http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/...ly-saviour - and look who's investing in it......

Looking at google maps, it takes just over an hour on the plane between Las Vegas and LA.... 4 hours 37 minutes in a car...

It current takes over 6 hours on a bus.

HS2 Birmingham to Crewe link to open six years early

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34958154

(30 Nov 2015, 10:24 am)Michael wrote HS2 Birmingham to Crewe link to open six years early

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34958154

Wow. That'll make a huge difference to how grim it is up north.

(30 Nov 2015, 12:59 pm)BusLoverMum wrote Wow. That'll make a huge difference to how grim it is up north.

It won't make a difference, in all honestly, its a waste of money, it'll never extend to the likes of Newcastle etc, if it ever did it won't be for at least 10 years after it opens!