Cheshire East Council has welcomed the announcement by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin that the Government is aiming to bring forward the construction of HS2.
The final route has yet to be decided but the Council is delighted that the Secretary of State has called for HS2 to be 'fast tracked' and indicated again that Crewe could become the first northern hub for HS2 before the 250mph service continues to Manchester to form a new super-fast link across the Pennines.
Mr McLoughlin said in a key speech in Leeds on Monday, 1st June "I want to see if we can bring HS2 to Crewe faster than planned, subject to further analysis and a decision on the preferred route.
"I'm determined to deliver the benefits to the north as fast as possible. So I'll prepare a dedicated Hybrid Bill in this Parliament."
Commenting on the announcement, Cheshire East Council Leader Councillor Michael Jones said: "This is fantastic news and a real game changer – not just for Crewe and Cheshire East, but for Stoke, North Staffordshire and the whole region.
"The benefits to Crewe and the surrounding area would be massive in terms of jobs and the economy – but we want to share the growth and benefits with our neighbours.
"This Council has put in an enormous amount of work over the past two years to secure HS2 for Crewe and the prospect of an early hybrid bill, which could confirm Crewe as the northern hub, is something we look forward to with great anticipation.
"We want the right solution for Crewe that would enable the economic benefits to be enjoyed across the whole sub-region, stretching along a corridor from North Staffordshire to North Wales and Merseyside.
"The hub station in Crewe would act as the gateway to the Northern Powerhouse and HS2 promises to bring a second railway revolution to the town and utterly transform its economic prospects.
"Now we need to get on with working together with our neighbouring authorities to secure the benefits for all."
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PS. If we hadn't closed the Great Central through Woodhead, Sheffield, and Nottingham to London we'd have had HS2. It was built with minimal curves south if Sheffield and Continental loading gauge.
Anyone who travels regularly to London will have noticed that a high proportion of travellers now work on their laptops throughout the journey---why would they want to arrive 20 minutes earlier to their destination where they will most probably just continue this activity from a stationary position?