IET: HS2 risks being developed in isolation

As further details are set out on the proposed High Speed 2 rail line, engineers are warning the Government that the scheme must be considered alongside local transport requirements.

Details of the next phase of the £32bn HS2 high-speed rail network were announced today with the preferred route running northwards from Birmingham with five stops at: Manchester; Manchester Airport; Toton in the East Midlands; Sheffield; and Leeds.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) says that if the project is to be a success it must be developed alongside other transport requirements.

Prof Phil Blythe, Chair of the IET Transport Policy Panel, said: “If the government intends to proceed with the development of a new high speed rail line, it must consider connections to the wider transport network at the outset and plan these effectively to ensure seamless, congestion free, door to door journeys.

“As most of the proposed stations are on the outskirts of major conurbations this is crucial to help maximise the benefits of any new line and to ensure local authorities can plan local transport solutions effectively to avoid issues such as a huge increase in new road users trying to access stations.

“Developing HS2 in isolation to local transport requirements would further serve to undermine this project.”

The publication today of the 211-mile northern phase two route of HS2, follows the confirmation a year ago of HS2’s 140-mile southern phase one route between London and Birmingham, which starts construction in four years and opens to passengers in 13 years. The routes announced today, running from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds, will open six years after that.

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About the IET:
IET high speed rail submission to the DfT: http://www.theiet.org/policy/submissions/s895.cfm

IET Video: HS2: what are the facts?: http://www.politics.co.uk/opinion-formers/institution-of-engineering-and-technology/article/iet-video-hs2-what-are-the-facts

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