YES to High Speed Rail

The Campaign for High Speed Rail is delighted by the Government’s announcement on Monday of £9.4 billion investment in railway infrastructure. Seen as a great day for rail, this major package will provide for expansion of the rail network and assist in the need to address capacity issues in the short and medium term.

The High Level Output Statement (HLOS) sends a clear message that, despite what opponents of HS2 have claimed, HS2 will not suck funding away from the rest of the rail network. Far from it.

The statement also reflects the joined-up thinking of the Transport Department; that is, the focus on integrating existing railway lines to the HS2 service, ensuring that greatest benefits are extracted from the high-speed network.

There are two points found in the statement that are particularly welcomed:

• “The strategic intent is to develop the network in a way that will enable it to shoulder demand until High Speed Two (HS2) becomes operational, but is then able quickly to adapt and integrate around the high capacity HS2 corridor.”

• “The Secretary of State wishes the industry to prepare for the future and, to this end, is improving £140 million over CPS to fund innovation and the development of potential enhancement schemes for CP6 (2019/20 to 2013/24) including all necessary work on development of the linkage of High Speed Two with the existing rail network.”

Read the North West campaign’s blog “HLOS release confirms HS2 no “vacuum” for investment cash” here.