New line between #Handsacre and #ManchesterAirport proposed to replace #HS2 Phase 2
A new rail link between Handsacre and Manchester Airport has been identified by the #GreaterManchester and #WestMidlands mayors as their preferred option to replace High Speed 2 (HS2) Phase 2.
The fate of Phase 2 of the UK’s flagship infrastructure project was made official on 4 October when prime minister Rishi Sunak confirmed that he was ordering the cancellation of “the rest of the HS2 project”. This meant that preparatory work for the high-speed line north of Birmingham – both to Manchester and the East Midlands – was to be halted immediately.
Off the back of this cancellation, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and West Midlands mayor Andy Street decided to formulate a private group to draw up a plan for an alternative scheme to better connect the North with the Midlands.
The group has now selected a preferred option of a new route that would run approximately 113km between HS2 at Handsacre and Northern Powerhouse Rail at High Legh.
Although using the same route, it is anticipated the line would follow different specifications to HS2, delivering a more affordable solution that still delivers benefit, through new engineering solutions and changes to design speed. This however is subject to further work ahead of this summer’s final conclusions, which will also set out options for an integrated solution at Crewe.
Three options were put forward after work was commissioned by the two mayors to a private sector group led by Arup with input from six other firms – Arcadis, Addleshaw Goddard, EY, Dragados SA, Mace and Skanska.
These options were:
Undertake significant engineering upgrades to the West Coast Main Line
Build bypasses at the pinch points on the West Coast Main Line
Build a new railway line between Handsacre and Manchester Airport
The group has now concluded option three is the preferred option to improve connections between the Midlands and the North of the UK and reduce congestion on the West Coast Main Line.
Doing nothing was dismissed by both mayors at the beginning of the work due to the pressure on the already congested routes in and out of the two regions, the West Coast Mainline and the M6. These two routes will continue to face significant passenger and freight capacity challenges through the 2030s and beyond, according to the mayors.
The group has been further exploring the different roles the private sector could play in the delivery and financing of the three different connectivity options, with the aim of helping to identify a new way of delivering infrastructure projects in the UK – striking the right balance between the public and private sector.
It is also studying how new infrastructure could be delivered in a different way, where costs are covered through a combination of government funding and private finance, with repayment through access or user charges on the new line.
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