Government sets out its preferred route for HS2 from Crewe to Manchester

The Government has today (Tuesday 15th November) sets out its preferred route for second phase of HS2 confirming that the new service will connect Crewe to Manchester.

The proposal for the western leg will see HS2 continue north from Crewe to Manchester Airport and then on to Manchester city centre, where a new HS2 station will be built next to Manchester Piccadilly.

There will also be a connection to Liverpool and to the existing West Coast main line allowing HS2 services to continue north, serving stations to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Changes on the western leg, which Department for Transport is consulting on, are moving the previously proposed rolling stock depot at Golborne to a site north of Crewe; moving the approach to Manchester Piccadilly up to 370 metres eastwards (to avoid direct impact on residential properties and a school at West Gorton) and moving the route in the Middlewich - Northwich area in Cheshire up to 800 metres westwards.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: "HS2 is an ambitious and exciting project and the government is seizing the opportunity it offers to build a transport network fit for the 21st century; one that works for all and makes clear to the world that Britain remains open for business.

"The full HS2 route will be a game-changer for the country that will slash journey times and perhaps most importantly give rail passengers on the existing network thousands of extra seats every day. They represent the greatest upgrade to our railway in living memory.

"But while it will bring significant benefits, I recognise the difficulties faced by communities along the route. They will be treated with fairness, compassion and respect and, as with Phase One, we intend to introduce further compensation which goes over and above what is required by law."

In response to today's announcement, Cheshire East Council has confirmed it will now work with HS2 to put effective engagement processes in place to ensure that residents' and businesses' concerns are heard by government.

Council Leader Rachel Bailey said: "This is the news that we have been working towards over the last five years or more and delivers the message that Cheshire East is truly open for business

"This will support our local communities through the creation of new skills and a further step towards full employment in the borough.

"It presents new learning, educational and training opportunities unequalled since the heydays of railway engineering in and around Crewe.

"But we stress that our support for HS2 is subject to the highest standards of mitigation and compensation for those affected, whilst also securing the maximum connectivity through the proposed hub station.

"The announcement today by the Secretary of State for Transport is welcomed and this council has been supporting the call for high-speed rail since it was first mooted.

"The huge economic benefits to be had from HS2 must be harnessed for our future generations so that the children and young people of today – and their children and grandchildren – can seize the enormous opportunities that HS2 will deliver.

"I have secured the continued support of the secretary of state for our strategy for a Northern Gateway Development Zone to ensure that the expected growth associated with HS2, will help to take families out of poverty, provide wide-ranging social benefits for residents and produce a new generation of skilled young people.

"By building a solid and substantial growth strategy, the Northern Gateway Partnership, with the support of government, is working hard to ensure that mid-Cheshire and partner areas are ready for HS2 by ensuring that the benefits of growth are delivered across the political and regional boundaries.

"I now want to work with partners and government in developing the case for a full hub station at Crewe."

Christine Gaskell, chair of the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership and board member of the Northern Gateway Development Zone, said: "The huge economic benefits of HS2 cannot be overstated.

"Evidence from high-speed rail across the world shows that HS2 will bring a huge boost to the Northern Gateway economy. It will deliver new jobs, business opportunities and thousands of homes to the sub-region.

"But benefits of this scale are dependent on having the right hub station solution at Crewe, which sits at the very heart of the national rail network, and delivery of a truly regional rail hub would enable HS2 to play a full role in revitalising the northern economy.

"It will cut journey times to and from London by more than an hour for 1.5 million people across Cheshire, Staffordshire and into North Wales."

Journeys from Crewe to London will take just 55 minutes, 45 minutes quicker than at present and it will carry an estimated 300,000 passengers per day.

Councillor Bailey added: "Cheshire East has long campaigned for this opportunity and now we know for certain that we have succeeded in securing a hub station at Crewe.

"Crewe is a town that desperately needs infrastructure investment on this scale and I am confident that HS2 will transform the economic landscape for Crewe and the wider region.

"However, any celebration is tempered with the knowledge that for some of our residents there will be disruption and the loss of homes and property.

"We are very mindful of this and this council will do everything in its power to ensure that all our residents affected by the construction of HS2 receive the highest standard of compensation."

HS2 Ltd will be holding regular stakeholder and community engagement events from December onwards and into the new year. Details will be made available on the HS2 website.

Click here to download the Crewe to Manchester route section map.

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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Bill Pilkington
Wednesday 16th November 2016 at 4:09 pm
The diagram of the route shows that the new line to Manchester misses Crewe?
Macclesfield is not connected to the HS2 route.
Macclesfield currently has an hourly service to London taking one hour forty-five minutes. Therefore the future journey from Macclesfield will take much longer due to having to drive to Crewe or Manchester Airport.
Therefore not much benefit to the second most important town in Cheshire East.
Regards,
Bill Pilkington
Vince Chadwick
Wednesday 16th November 2016 at 4:45 pm
Crewe is indeed on the HS2 route.

It will be possible to catch an HS2-compliant train at Macclesfield or Stoke which will join HS2 south of Stafford to run high speed to Euston, so will be quicker than today's service. Similar trains would serve Wilmslow joining HS2 at Crewe.

But it has to be remembered that HS2 is not primarily about speed (that is just a bonus that comes with building a 21st century railway). It's about capacity.

The current West Coast Main Line Crewe to London is nearing capacity and rail travel is growing at an unprecedented rate. Every forecast predicts that that rate will not slow. HS2 is the only way to add the required capacity.

Once the longer distance traffic is running on HS2, the 'classic' West Coast Main Line will be able to handle more freight and more 'local' stopping trains. Thus towns such as Lichfield, Tamworth, Rugby etc which currently have a very sparse Pendolino service will enjoy far more trains stopping there.