First North-west leg of HS2 secures Royal Assent

Delivery of the first North-west leg of the HS2 high-speed rail project, running from Birmingham to Crewe, has secured Royal Assent.

The HS2 Phase 2a Bill had brought forward construction of the line so that it would be delivered by 2031, rather than by the end of the 2030s, and accelerating its economic benefits to the region. Construction of this stretch of the line expected to support approximately 5,000 jobs. Contractors will soon bid to deliver two tunnels, 26 cuttings, 17 viaducts and 65 bridges along the route.

From Crewe, the service will connect with other routes in the North-west England, including to Manchester and Liverpool, as well as services beyond to Edinburgh and Glasgow. The additional route will increase capacity on existing London-bound services.

Once complete, HS2 will be the first new intercity railway built in the North of England in over 100 years.

Tim Wood, Northern Powerhouse Rail Director at Transport for the North, said:

This is brilliant news. It has been a long time coming but HS2 has now been approved up to Crewe, which takes us to the doorstep of the North of England. The move will lock-in the creation of thousands of jobs in the years to come as we seek to build back better.

“It is essential now that the North gets certainty on the delivery of Phase 2b in full, on both sides of the Pennines, so that our communities are fully connected to the nation’s high-speed network. Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 are two parts of a whole and both are fundamental to the transformative change we need to release the North’s economic potential and cut carbon emissions.

“We look forward to the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan shortly, which needs to give certainty to both HS2 to Manchester and Leeds, and to the Northern Powerhouse Rail network.”

In response to growing costs of the project, it was also confirmed in October by government that Phase 2b of the line, from Crewe to Manchester, would also be brought forward. Work on the London to Birmingham stretch of the route is already underway.