Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

HS2 Planning Assumptions: Rail Travel Patterns

Thursday 13 July 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • John Spellar questioned the Secretary of State about the impact of changed rail travel patterns on HS2 planning assumptions.
  • The Secretary responded that HS2 is planned for the coming decades, beyond the immediate post-pandemic period.
  • The Secretary noted that business and commuter traffic is currently down, but leisure travel has surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 John Spellar Lab
Transport
Context

The MP questioned the validity of HS2's planning assumptions in light of recent changes in rail travel patterns.

Question

What assessment has been made of the potential impact of changed patterns of rail travel on the planning assumptions for HS2. I am concerned about how the ongoing case for HS2 would have had to be based on estimates of future passenger numbers, particularly for business travel and inter-city commuting. Following the pandemic, there has been a major change due to video conferencing and working from home.

Answer from Mark Harper

HS2 is a railway for the coming decades, not just the next few years. The pandemic should not affect the case for HS2. Business and commuter traffic is down following the pandemic, but leisure services have rebounded strongly with passenger numbers higher than pre-pandemic levels. High-speed trains are used by everyone in Japan, showing HS2 will free up capacity on the west coast main line and move freight from roads to rail.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Publication of latest projections of inter-city passenger numbers

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Q2 John Spellar Lab
Transport
Context

The MP questioned the validity of HS2's planning assumptions in light of recent changes in rail travel patterns.

Question

I thank the Secretary of State for that waffle. I actually asked him about the basic planning assumptions for this project, because the ongoing case for HS2 would have had to be based on estimates of future passenger numbers, particularly for business travel and inter-city commuting. Following the pandemic, we all know there has been a major change because of video conferencing and working from home.

Answer from Mark Harper

HS2 is a railway for the coming decades, not just the next few years. What happened during the pandemic should not affect the case for HS2. Business and commuter traffic is down following the pandemic, but leisure services have rebounded strongly with passenger numbers higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Publication of latest projections of inter-city passenger numbers

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