PART ONE
ITEM NO.
REPORT OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR FOR SUSTAINABLE
REGENERATION
TO LEAD MEMBER FOR PLANNING
ON 9 FEBRUARY 2011
TITLE:
HIGH SPEED RAIL
RECOMMENDATION:
That the report be noted.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The purpose of this report is to inform Lead Member of emerging proposals for high
speed rail services connecting London and Manchester, of the potential timetable for
decisions, and of the procedure for City Council involvement.
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: None
(Available for public inspection)
KEY DECISION:
NO
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Background
1.1
In January 2009, the Government set up a company, High Speed Two
Limited (HS2 Ltd), to look at the feasibility of, and business case for, a
new high speed rail line between London and the West Midlands and
to consider the case for high speed rail services linking London,
northern England and Scotland.
1.2
At the end of 2009, HS2 Ltd delivered a report to Ministers showing
their recommended route between London and the West Midlands.
The Department for Transport published the report and plans in March
2010.
1.3
In June 2010, the new Government asked HS2 Ltd to carry out further
work on the comparative case for different ways of connecting the
West Midlands with Manchester and Leeds. This work will inform the
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Government’s overall strategy and timetable for establishing a high
speed rail network. In October 2010, the Secretary of State for
Transport confirmed that the network north of Birmingham should
follow a “Y” alignment, with separate routes serving Manchester and
Leeds.
1.4
Subject to the outcome of the forthcoming consultation on the
Government's high speed rail strategy, HS2 Ltd is expected to report
showing their recommended routes between West Midlands and
Manchester and Leeds to the Secretary of State by December 2011.
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Public Consultation and Development Timetable
2.1
It is anticipated that the Government and HS2 Ltd will commence
formal consultation, both on the detailed proposals for the alignment of
the London to West Midlands route and proposed station locations and
also on the merits of high speed rail in principal, in early 2011.
2.2
If the principle of establishing a high speed network is agreed, then it is
anticipated that formal consultation on the detailed proposals for the
alignment of the West Midlands to Manchester and Leeds routes and
proposed station locations will take place in 2012.
2.3
Implementation of the new network would probably be rolled out in
phases. Construction of the London to West Midlands route could
begin by 2018 and could open in late 2025. It is unlikely that work on
stations serving Manchester or Leeds would commence before 2025.
Feasibility work on route options north of Manchester and Leeds has
yet to be programmed.
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Stakeholder Involvement
3.1
From the start of their work, HS2 Ltd placed significant importance on
working collaboratively with stakeholders. They formed external
challenge groups and stakeholder groups to inform their work and met
with location specific working groups for London and West Midlands
stations.
3.2
However, because of the impact of potential station locations on
property values and the potential for blight, stakeholder involvement is
held on a confidential basis. The work on the line of route is done
within HS2 Ltd for this reason.
3.3
Although the recommended station location in Birmingham was
informed by local stakeholders, the recommendation to Government
was that of HS2 Ltd alone. Formal consultation with the stakeholders
involved in that section of the route will be included with the overall
exercise in 2011.
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3.4
A local delivery partner working group has been established to inform
HS2 Ltd’s feasibility work on potential station locations to serve
Manchester regional centre, subject to conditions of confidentiality.
Salford City Council has been represented by officers at meetings of
this group.
3.5
Local stakeholders have assisted HS2 Ltd in identifying potential
station locations and provide local intelligence to inform detailed
feasibility work. HS2 Ltd has currently identified a number of potential
locations appropriate for detailed feasibility appraisal. It is anticipated
that detailed feasibility work will rule out several options, leaving a
small number to be developed in detail to support HS2 Ltd’s
recommendation of a preferred location and approach route by
December 2011.
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Key Design Issues
4.1
High speed rail services are intended to serve long distance, city-to-city
journeys rather than shorter distance trips. New high speed lines
should only be used by high speed trains as inclusion of slower trains
reduces capacity.
4.2
High speed train routes require straight alignments in order to achieve
design speeds of 400kph, with maximum radii curves of 9km, which
lower speeds to 260kph. HS2 Ltd will be assessing the demand for a
potential interchange on the outskirts of Manchester. There is no remit
to look at specific locations between Birmingham and Manchester but if
demand warrants an additional intermediate station this will be weighed
against the journey time penalty of another stop on the line.
4.3
Speeds in city centre approaches will only be 100kph. HS2 Ltd’s
preference is to align routes through existing transport corridors in built
up areas in order to minimise disruption.
4.4
In the early stages of developing a network, the benefits would be
extended to cities further north with trains running off the high speed
line and onto the existing classic network. Over time, however, the
longer term high speed network would become more segregated from
the constrained classic network to maximise the benefits of reliability
and capacity.
4.5
High speed stations are more akin to an airport terminal than a classic
railway station. They are expected to handle 14 trains per hour, each
with a capacity of 1,100 passengers. They need to move large
volumes of people very quickly and to allow trains to leave and
accelerate quickly from the station.
4.6
Platforms need to be straight and 400 metres long. For comparison,
the planned extension of Salford Crescent is only to 150 metres.
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4.7
Location criteria for stations include proximity to passengers’ final
destinations, interconnections to other modes of transport, the
availability of land, community impact and potential regeneration
benefits.
4.8
Synergy with the Northern Hub proposals to improve classic rail
services around Manchester regional centre is a key consideration in
identifying potential locations in Manchester.
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Potential Benefits
5.1
Research commissioned by 4NW concluded that High Speed Rail has
the potential to bring significant economic benefits to the Northwest.
The key benefits would be in the form of:
 Time savings to business and other travellers through reduced travel
times;
 Wider impacts in terms of productivity benefits to business;
 Benefits to passengers and other users of the ‘classic’ network
through reduced crowding and opportunities to utilise additional
capacity with increased commuter, regional and freight services; and
 Economic development impacts in terms of increased employment,
output and income in the cities served as a result of the major
improvement in their connectivity.
5.2
The research concludes that the proposed Manchester station must
serve the city centre in order to secure and maximise potential
economic benefits. The benefits are most likely to accrue to the
financial, business and service sectors.
5.3
Local impact of the station serving the Manchester regional centre will
depend on the location chosen. The scale of development, entailing
both the station complex and the approach routes, will inevitably be
highly disruptive.
The long lead-in period anticipated between
announcement of a preferred location and commencement of
development may also cause significant blight to the chosen site. On
the other hand, development of the station should have significant
regeneration benefits to the area selected, including potential for
complementary development over and around the station footprint.
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Conclusions
6.1
High Speed Rail, if progressed, would entail significant investment in
infrastructure, with many potential benefits to the Northwest economy.
6.2
Assuming that the station serving the Manchester regional centre is
effectively linked with other modes of transport, and particularly with
the planned Northern Hub proposals to improve classic rail, any
chosen location is likely to benefit the City of Salford. However, local
impacts cannot be determined until the preferred station location and
approach routes have been confirmed.
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KEY COUNCIL POLICIES:
 Unitary Development Plan
 Salford Economic Development Plan
 Local Transport Plan
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND IMPLICATIONS: An equality impact
assessment will be carried out by HS2 Ltd as part of the Appraisal of Sustainability
of the feasibility work
ASSESSMENT OF RISK: High: Premature release of information on sites under
consideration for location of a station is likely to risk blighting all such sites.
SOURCE OF FUNDING: The costs of the feasibility study are being met by HS2 Ltd,
which is fully funded by Government
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS: Supplied by Richard W. Lester, Locum Solicitor
0161 793 2129
This report is simply informative and for noting. Pending the publication of detailed
proposals for the route in the Manchester area, no legal implications for our City
Council can be identified.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Supplied by Alison Swinnerton, 0161 793 2585
There are no financial implications as a result of this report as it is for noting at this
stage.
OTHER DIRECTORATES CONSULTED: None
CONTACT OFFICER:
Chris Findley
TEL. NO.
793 3654
WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S): All
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