Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin launched a new report into the regeneration and transport benefits of high-speed rail on May 16.
Authored by the Independent Transport Commission (ITC), High Speed Rail & Connected Cities examines experience gained in Europe, and explores how towns and cities on the route can maximise the wider benefits from High Speed 2.
The report says that while Greater Manchester is “ahead of the game” in preparing for HS2, Greater Birmingham and the West Midlands face “significant challenges in effectively integrating HS2 with local and regional transport”.
It argues that Leeds and West Yorkshire can strengthen its position as a connection hub between the UK and mainland Europe, that Sheffield needs to have strong local and regional transport to feed into HS2, and that Crewe must “intensify and improve the region’s local connectivity” given the disparate nature of settlements in the area.
- For more on this, read RAIL 801, published on May 25.
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Graham Nalty - 17/05/2016 08:06
Cities should work together, but they cannot do this when unsuitable station locations are being proposed by HS2 Ltd. For cities to gain from HS2 they need city centre stations served by HS2 trains., not parkways stations outside. Sheffield needs a city centre station, whether at Victoria as proposed by the city council, or at Midland as suggested by Greengauge 21. The Stoke on Trent plan for a new city centre at Etruria based round a HS2 station is a brilliant was to grow the economy, but the plan for a station two miles south o Crewe is a folly. Same for Toton, as it would be far better for some HS2 trains to serve Derby and Nottingham stations.
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townmouse - 17/05/2016 15:21
In other words, when HS2 fails on its own terms (cost, environment, connectivity, investment), it will be the individual cities which are to blame for not miraculously creating the conditions of thousands of jobs. The tragedy of HS2 is that it is being heralded as the catalyst for reinvigorating the north, when the only thing it will catalyse is an increase in the country's debt and the missed opportunity to invest in useful cross country links. On a side note, the scheme is currently referred to as "Horse Sh*t 2" within the ranks of the civil service.
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