HS2 - Government proposals, alternative routes and general discussion

[whole diary]

[ellendune]

You'd be surprised TG - There has actually been quite a substantial lobbying effort by "red wall" Conservative MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) in the area who don't feel they will benefit from the HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) eastern leg, led by Alexander Stafford, MP for the Rother Valley who is quoted in the very article you posted explaining why.

I had heard that Alexander Stafford was anti HS2, but I was not sure about other "red wall" Tories were pro or anti. The catchment of HS2 services goes further North by links to the ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line) so Teeside and Sunderland are areas that could benefit. 

[Lee]

You'd be surprised TG - There has actually been quite a substantial lobbying effort by "red wall" Conservative MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) in the area who don't feel they will benefit from the HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) eastern leg, led by Alexander Stafford, MP for the Rother Valley who is quoted in the very article you posted explaining why.

I had heard that Alexander Stafford was anti HS2, but I was not sure about other "red wall" Tories were pro or anti. The catchment of HS2 services goes further North by links to the ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line) so Teeside and Sunderland are areas that could benefit. 

I touched on that aspect of it in my earlier post:

If you match up the constituency map to the HS2 map, then the political temptation for the Government to scrap the eastern leg becomes fairly obvious.

In terms of constituencies related to stations that the HS2 eastern leg would actually call at, the East Midlands Hub, which will have Nottingham and Derby as primary catchments, is in Broxtowe constituency which along with Derby North is Conservative-held. Aside from that, Derby South and all of the Nottingham, Chesterfield, Sheffield and Leeds seats are Labour-held. It is also the case that the eastern leg would go right through a number of Conservative seats, some of them gained at the last election, without stopping.

When you consider constituencies related to stations that the HS2 eastern leg services would then go on to call at using the classic network, only Darlington is Conservative-held, while York Central is an isolated pocket of red in a sea of blue, and the City of Durham and Newcastle seats are Labour-held as well.

By contrast, on the western side, Stafford, Crewe, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Penrith, Carlisle and Lockerbie are all Conservative-held and will all be served by HS2 services, while Birmingham, Manchester and Warrington all saw seats turning blue at the last general election as well.

The Sunderland seats are all still Labour-held, and while I would agree there is some Teeside "red wall" scope for HS2 benefit, particularly off Darlington station which I marked as an exception, the catchments off Durham and Newcastle are still very red politically.

[TonyK]

It is, again, a shame that politics has decided infrastructure spending, but not entirely unexpected. It will happen one day, but first a number of cheaper schemes will be put in place to mitigate the loss, which will not achieve anything like the same result, and will cost a lot more in the longer term. At least there won't be a MetroBust affair instead.

White elephant or lost opportunity depends on who you talk to, but Leeds and other places on the route have spent a lot of their own public's money getting ready for HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)).

[TaplowGreen]

Further delays and overspend suggested in Parliament;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-58671051?at_custom2=twitter&at_campaign=64&at_medium=custom7&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D&at_custom4=twitter&at_custom3=%40BBCPolitics

[TonyK]

Further delays and overspend suggested in Parliament;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-58671051?at_custom2=twitter&at_campaign=64&at_medium=custom7&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D&at_custom4=twitter&at_custom3=%40BBCPolitics

An anonymous whistleblower leaking to a staunch opponent?

[TaplowGreen]

Further delays and overspend suggested in Parliament;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-58671051?at_custom2=twitter&at_campaign=64&at_medium=custom7&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D&at_custom4=twitter&at_custom3=%40BBCPolitics

An anonymous whistleblower leaking to a staunch opponent?

Looks like you've got Jacob Rees-Mogg on your team anyway!!! 

[Red Squirrel]

The Mirror drew my attention to a graphic which indicates the impact HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) and NPR will have on people's travel choices when* they are built in full. I can't embed it directly, so you'll have to follow the link to see it:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/incredible-graphic-shows-difference-hs2-25406945

_{*they will be built in full. Maybe not in my lifetime, but they will be.}

[TaplowGreen]

Interesting article from Christian Wolmar in the environmental/decarbonising context on HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s));


https://www.christianwolmar.co.uk/2021/09/rail-940-does-hs2-fit-with-the-decarbonising-agenda/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feed%2Fchristianwolmar+%28Christian+Wolmar%29

[TaplowGreen]

_{*they will be built in full. Maybe not in my lifetime, but they will be.}

Or perhaps not...............

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59292120?at_medium=RSS^▸ (Regional Spatial Strategy)&at_campaign=KARANGA

[Red Squirrel]

_{*they will be built in full. Maybe not in my lifetime, but they will be.}

Or perhaps not...............

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59292120?at_medium=RSS^▸ (Regional Spatial Strategy)&at_campaign=KARANGA

I'm in reasonable health, Taplow Green.

[ellendune]

_{*they will be built in full. Maybe not in my lifetime, but they will be.}

Or perhaps not...............

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59292120?at_medium=RSS^▸ (Regional Spatial Strategy)&at_campaign=KARANGA

I'm in reasonable health, Taplow Green.

HS1^▸ (High Speed line 1 - St Pancras to Channel Tunnel) (aka the Channel Tunnel Rail Link) was scrapped once before it was built. 

[TonyK]

So HS1^▸ (High Speed line 1 - St Pancras to Channel Tunnel)½ it is. For now at least.

[Red Squirrel]

North newspapers urge PM not to scale back rail investment



Newspapers in the North of England have launched a campaign urging the government not to scale back promised rail investment.

Inspired by the poster for the 1996 film Trainspotting, Reach's dailies' front pages urged prime minister Boris Johnson to "Choose the North."

It comes amid reports Mr Johnson is planning to downgrade the eastern leg of the HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) railway line.

The government said its Integrated Rail Plan would be published this week.

The Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) spokesman also added that it would not comment on speculation.

Full article

Source: BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

According to the Northern Agenda newsletter:

Conservative MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) Kevin Hollinrake, who represents Thirsk and Malton in North Yorkshire, told the i the trimmed back plans indicated the Government was “not willing to put our money where our mouth is”.

Northern Powerhouse Partnership Director Henri Murison said: “The suggestion that an upgrade of the current route across the Pennines is going to unlock the potential of the North as a productive and successful counterweight to London and the South East for the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) is misguided and, in economic terms, disastrous.

“Bypassing Bradford with its young and diverse population is the height of short-term Treasury thinking. Throwing money at 150-year-old tunnels towards Manchester because it will cost less, which will never have enough capacity as they and the wider route through Huddersfield is so constrained, is not Northern Powerhouse Rail.

"It is an upgrade, necessary and already underway, and itself hugely delayed in commencing. The PM has only a few days left to correct the course his government is on despite his previous promises and instincts.”

Back in 2017, a Conservative backbencher said:

In the area of transport, we are still selling the North’s potential short. The ‘Northern Powerhouse’ is a wonderful phrase, but the people of Northern England deserve more than a slogan. They need action.

That backbencher was Rishi Sunak.

[PhilWakely]

The HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) latest...

Writing in the Yorkshire Post, Mr Johnson appears to confirm reports that a shorter high-speed route will be created from Birmingham to East Midlands Parkway, with the HS2 trains then running up as far as Sheffield on mainline tracks.

In his article Mr Johnson wrote: "HS2 will come to Sheffield, meaning a trip to or from London will take just one hour 27 minutes - precisely the same as under the old HS2 plans.

So, if the Leeds HS2 leg is to be scrapped, yet journey times to Sheffield will still meet original HS2 plans. It'll be interesting to see how HS2 stock will perform between East Midlands Parkway and Sheffield on existing tracks.

[grahame]

I have mirrored the newly published DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) "Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands at

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/integrated-rail-plan-for-the-north-and-midlands.pdf

I am unclear what it does for the South West, though Dominic Raab was quoted as saying it will be "good for all England" on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) this morning.