Key Facts

• The HS2 section from Crewe to Manchester will link Greater Manchester, the west midlands, and London.
• It will halve journey times between Manchester and Birmingham and reduce the trip time from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston to one hour and eleven minutes.
• The integrated rail plan includes a £96 billion investment for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
• 7 million new trees are planned in phase 1 of HS2, with a commitment to a 10% net gain in biodiversity for the Crewe-to-Manchester phase.
• An underground station at Piccadilly would add around an additional £5 billion to the cost of the Crewe-to-Manchester scheme.
• HS2 services between London and Glasgow are set to be available once the HS2 trains start running on to the conventional rail network.
• The Government is considering alternatives within the £96 billion envelope for the integrated rail plan.
• The HS2 train fleet will be designed and built by a Hitachi-Alstom joint venture located in Newton Aycliffe, Derby and Crewe.
• HS2 is already supporting more than 26,000 jobs with many more expected from this Bill.
• Pursuing the underground option at Piccadilly would result in a seven-year delay to HS2 reaching Manchester Piccadilly and an additional cost of around £5 billion compared to the surface station.
• The Crewe North rolling stock depot will support the scheme’s operation.
• HS2 Ltd has taken into account Cheshire's special environmental conditions, including salt extraction.
• The Bill includes an additional stage for a specially appointed Select Committee to consider its private aspects.
• The Golborne link section of the line runs from Hoo Green to the west coast main line south of Wigan.
• Sir Peter Hendy’s Union connectivity review recommended reviewing alternative options for this section of the line.
• HS2 Ltd is offering various methods of engagement including in-person events, webinars, a 24/7 helpline, and one-to-one appointments.
• HS2, born under Labour government more than a decade ago, is becoming merely a ghost of its former self due to Tory mismanagement.
• Department for Transport cuts amount to 10% on rail alone.
• The cost of HS2 may rise to over £150 billion according to whistleblowers.
• Cuts to Transport for the North's budget by 20%.
• Labour is in favour of excellent alternative proposals from the Government regarding the Golborne link.
• The Bill must deliver infrastructure for the north but could entrench the north-south divide.
• The previous Labour Government invested billions of pounds in northern communities and rolling stock.
• Labour wants to address rail capacity constraints on the west coast main line and reinvest any saved funding into local transport projects.
• A future Labour Government will complete HS2 in full, including Northern Powerhouse Rail.
• The Government has failed to revisit the economic case for HS2 post-pandemic.
• The Phase 2b Bill will be subject to 20 substantive amendments, including removal of the Golborne link.
• The proposed alternative railhead and maintenance base would save £650 million and create a levelling-up opportunity in north Staffordshire.
• Golborne link is cancelled as part of the HS2 project.
• Scottish Government supports HS2 on the basis of improved journey times and capacity.
• Rail industry groups express disappointment over the cancellation, highlighting negative impacts on passengers and decarbonisation goals.
• £3 billion extra funding is proposed for Scotland’s Parliament to spend on transport network improvements.
• Wales will receive no consequential spending from HS2 despite its potential benefits.
• The High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill was announced shortly before a confidence vote on the Prime Minister.
• Scottish Ministers had already raised concerns about the Bill, which have gone unanswered.
• Legislative consent from the Scottish Parliament is required for the Bill.
• Since 2007, the Scottish Government has invested over £9 billion in rail infrastructure.
• The Bill is highly contentious, especially for constituents in Tatton.
• The original concept was developed by Lord Adonis in 2004.
• Initial cost estimate was £37.5 billion, now up to £150 billion.
• There are currently 1.3 million job vacancies in the UK.
• The petition against HS2 saw 155,000 signatures.
• More than 2,000 signatories were from Tatton constituency.
• HS2 will damage five internationally protected wildlife sites, 639 local wildlife sites, 108 ancient woodlands and 33 legally protected scientific sites in Cheshire.
• Only 1% of travellers will switch from planes to rail and only 4% from cars to rail.
• The construction of HS2 alone will add 1.5 million tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere.
• HS2 will free up slots on key parts of the current rail network.
• The proposed Piccadilly station design would blight about half a million square metres of city centre land.
• Business leaders in the Financial Times urge Ministers to revise the current design, which they call “hugely shortsighted.”
• Revising the design could bring an additional £333 million per year in economic benefit.
• Gateway House was built in the late 1960s.
• Manchester City Council was Conservative-controlled for four years in the 1960s.
• The Ashton-under-Lyne Metrolink line will be closed for at least two years during HS2 construction.
• It connects communities from Ashton-under-Lyne to Piccadilly, serving over 60,000 people daily and linking to major venues like the Etihad stadium and Co-op Live arena.
• The proposed shuttle service would operate between Ashton and New Islington with a depot at Ashton Moss estimated by TfGM to cost less than £200 million cited by the Minister.
• The High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill is a significant milestone for HS2 in Parliament.
• The project aims to increase railway capacity, not just speed up journeys from Manchester or Crewe to London.
• It focuses on futureproofing the railways for decades to come.
• Crewe has 7% of the rail workforce in England despite having just 0.1% of the population.
• Alstom won a contract to build bogies for HS2.
• A bid will be submitted for levelling up funding to transform car, pedestrian and cycle infrastructure around the station.
• The economic case for large-scale high-speed rail investment is clear.
• HS2 provides capacity benefits, reduces travel time, and aids in city regeneration.
• Rail transport emits fewer carbon emissions per capita than other modes of transport.
• There is a significant shortfall in the east midlands due to incomplete HS2 network proposals.
• HS2 is seen as a once-in-a-century project.
• Crossrail had its own teething problems but provided valuable lessons.
• The Bill aligns with the Government's commitment to 'levelling up' the UK.
• £96 billion investment in rail, described as biggest in UK history.
• Connectivity issues between Warrington and Liverpool/Manchester highlighted.
• HS2 will create job opportunities in Crewe but faces accessibility challenges for disabled individuals.
• Concerns raised about the proposed underground through-station option for Manchester Piccadilly due to potential construction delays and costs.
• MP supports Public Order Bill to prevent protests from hindering HS2 progress.
• The project needs to be integrated into the network implemented by the Mayor of Greater Manchester.
• There is a call for a new Metrolink station, Piccadilly Central, to be included.
• HS2 between Crewe and Manchester aims to bring businesses, jobs, and prosperity to the region.
• Poor regional rail services suppress economic growth and result in only 2% of commutes to northwest England being made by rail.
• Signalling improvements, speed enhancements, infrastructure upgrades around Chester station, and electrification are required for the north Wales coast main line.
• Sir Peter Hendy's Union Connectivity Review highlights links across the UK, including connections to Ireland and the continent.
• The Crewe northern junction is important for sufficient connecting services to North Wales.
• The MP encourages examining the possibility of upgrading the route via Warrington after the Golborne link decision.
• The Bill extends high-speed rail further into more parts of the country.
• The benefit-cost ratio was only 0.6:1.7 before recent cancellations.
• Rail has lost a fifth of its passengers since the start of remote working options.
• Villages and hamlets in Buckinghamshire have experienced severe disruption from HS2 construction, including road closures and farm damage.
• The project is described as an important infrastructure initiative that will benefit the country in the long term.
• Opposition Members are criticized for focusing on short-term interests over national priorities.
• HS2 is primarily about improving rail capacity, not just reducing journey times.
• HS2 opponents argue it is not necessary due to high-speed broadband.
• The worst-case cost scenario for HS2 is about £5 billion per year.
• Largan chairs the all-party group on mining and quarrying.
• There are ongoing upgrades to the Hope Valley line in Largan's constituency costing £137 million.
• The Golborne spur would have affected thousands of families and businesses in Lowton and Golborne.
• It would have demolished the Enterprise Way industrial estate, costing hundreds of local jobs.
• Byron wood and Lowton civic field—much-loved green spaces—would have been destroyed.
• The high-speed rail line will go from Crewe to Manchester without including the Golborne spur.
• Ted Thwaite, who passed away six months before the decision, was a long-time opponent of the Golborne spur.
• Linda Graham's house was very close to the route and she fought against it despite political differences.
• The campaign against the spur had cross-party support in Warrington but faced opposition from Wigan Council.
• HS2 Golborne spur was opposed by local residents and borough council.
• Government has put the HS2 Golborne spur on hold.
• A family expecting to lose their house due to HS2 received assurance from the government regarding safeguarding measures review.
• £42 million is being invested in Warrington for public transport improvements through buses.
• The integrated rail plan will invest in trains in a way that has never happened before in the north of England.
• The statement is about the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill.
• Only one UK-based firm has been shortlisted for £2.5 billion-worth of track and tunnel systems.
• Labour wants more public contracts to go to British companies, including small construction businesses and national corporations.
• The National Audit Office noted in 2020 that HS2 was over budget and behind schedule.
• HS2 currently employs 26,000 people.
• More than 6,000 responses were received during the environmental consultation of the Bill.
• The delivery of the Crewe to Manchester section is scheduled for 2035 to 2041.
• £10 million additional funding will be provided for the HS2 community and environment fund and business/local economy fund.
• A four-platform overground station was proposed at Manchester Piccadilly in January 2013.
• The Government commissioned a Bechtel report to consider the case for an underground station but concluded it remained more expensive.
• In June 2020, HS2 was commissioned to investigate alternative station designs.
• By September 2020, the scope of the study for a like-for-like comparison between surface and underground stations was agreed upon.
• The study concluded in August 2021 and recommended proceeding with a surface station design.
• A six-platform surface station at Piccadilly is intended to be confirmed by depositing the Bill in January.