AFTER months of speculation, the Government confirmed at the Conservative Party Conference in October that the high-speed line will no longer be extended to Manchester or East Midlands Parkway.
The estimated saving of £36 billion will instead be spent on alternative transport projects, but much of this will not be rail related, with many new road projects being taken forward as well as a substantial increase in the budget for road repairs to reduce the widespread presence of potholes that are causing increasing levels of damage to road vehicles.
The Government says it does want HS2 to terminate at Euston rather than Old Oak Common, but this will depend on attracting investment from the private sector. A development company will be established to build the station and rail link, with the incentive of providing significant property development.
However, the station at Euston will be cut back from the planned 11 platforms to six, which reflects the reduced scope of future high-speed services. A connection to theWest Coast Main Line at Lichfield will allow trains using high speed rolling stock to continue to operate beyond Birmingham, but as the HS2 vehicles do not have tilt capability the services will be limited to a maximum of 110mph on conventional lines.
Train contract
The contract to provide rolling stock for HS2 was agreed in December 2021, with a joint venture between Hitachi and Alstom responsible for providing 54 trainsets capable of running at up to 360kph (225mph), with coupled units being 400 metres in length.