HS2 Birmingham - Crewe to open six years earlier

The government has announced that the 43-mile section of HS2 high-speed rail link between Birmingham and Crewe will open in 2027, six years earlier that initially planned.

Crewe has been chosen above Stoke-on-Trent as the next key staging post on the route to Manchester. The improvements to transport links to the North of England is a ket part of the government’s transport policy.

The Bill for the first stage of HS2 is yet to go through Parliament. Furthermore, the Bill for the London to Birmingham link, which will be the biggest in parliamentary history, may not gain Royal Assent this year.

Before this can take place a committee is required to examine the route in significant detail with those who will be affected.

The government’s target for the completion of the London to Birmingham link is 2026, while the routes to Manchester and Leeds are aimed to be finished by 2033.

Last year, HS2 boss Sir David Higgins claimed the £55.7 billion project will likely be completed sooner than the original targets.

Higgins is also responsible for persuading others in the decision to extend the line a further 43 miles to Crewe. He argued that the move would save a significant amount of time, and government agreed, despite an opposing bid to go to Stoke instead.

Chancellor George Osborne also announced that the former head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) business group John Cridland will take charge of new body, Transport of the North, which will specifically work to improve transport links across the North.

Once the route is activated, the Treasury claims journey times between Crewe and London will be cut by 35 minutes. The Chancellor confirmed in the November Spending Review that £13 billion will be spent on improving transport links in the North.

Osborne said: “Bringing forward this part of the HS2 route by six years is a massive step in the right direction for the Northern Powerhouse where high-speed rail will play a big role in connecting up the entire region with the rest of the country.”

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