Posted 27th October 2014 | 7 Comments

Green light for HS3 marks major shift in government policy

A MAJOR shift in government policy on devolution to city regions was heralded today when Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced he was setting up ‘Transport for the North’ and that next month he will announce plans for transferring powers to regional cities.

Transport for the North will be like Transport for London, he said, ensuring there is a coherent transport policy.

TfN will take on developing plans for HS3 – a new high speed east-west line across the Pennines linking northern cities with both northern arms of HS2.

Journey times between Leeds and Manchester could be cut in almost half under proposals published today in Leeds by Sir David Higgins, chairman of HS2 Ltd in his new report, ‘Rebalancing Britain: from HS2 towards a national transport strategy’.

George Osborne told the Leeds press conference:  “I want to make it very clear: we need HS3.

“I also want to make it clear that today we are giving the green light to go ahead with HS3, which will be the biggest investment by any government in transport in the North of England.”

The Chancellor was joined at the press conference in Leeds by Prime Minister David Cameron, who said more detailed plans for HS3 would be worked up by next March. 

But on the basis of the current forecast costs of building HS2, the Prime Minister said HS3 could cost £6-£7 billion.

TfN will be based on One North, the consortium of city regions that put forward the HS3 concept last summer.  Sir Richard Lees, Leader of Manchester City Council, said One North would now meet again next week.

George Osborne said: “Projects like HS3 won’t work if they are all designed in Whitehall, so we need to make sure there is proper local involvement, bringing together the Northern transport cities.”

He said the northern cities were individually strong, adding: “But they can be even stronger if we bring them closer together to create a new economic powerhouse to compete on the world stage.

“We have a real plan now for HS2 – the right route, the right stations (but we will consult on them), including Crewe as a major hub for the North West. It will have a transformational affect on the economy of our country.”

David Higgins said the plan to extend HS2 to Crewe in 2027 would require a separate Parliamentary Bill – but HS3 need not wait for HS2 to be built into the North West and North East “and a lot can be done in the short term.”

The Higgins’ report – some more details

The latest report from David Higgins gives strong backing to the case for Phase 2 of HS2 – taking the network beyond Staffordshire to Manchester and the North West and to Leeds and the North East – and sets out proposals to maximise its benefits.

His proposals include bringing forward plans for a hub station at Crewe rejecting Stoke-on-Trent’s call for the line to be diverted through the Potteries – and a “fundamental review of the right solution for Leeds station to allow connections between HS2, existing rail services and improved east west connections.”

David Higgins also confirmed his view that the right location for a station serving Sheffield and South Yorkshire is Meadowhall, not in the city centre, despite pleas from Sheffield city council.

He added that the East Midlands interchange should remain in the Toton area, between Derby and Nottingham “but that its precise location needs further work.” David Higgins said today that the Toton option was “not off the table.”  But the whole area was very difficult, being in the flood plain, he explained.

It is widely understood the alternative site being examined is near the village of Breaston, which is over the border in Derbyshire but still close to the M1/A52 interchange that serves Toton, which is in Nottinghamshire.  Breaston is situated close to the existing Derby-Nottingham line between Spondon and Long Eaton. A move of the HAS2 station to Breaston, which is the green belt, would be strongly opposed by Erewash District Council, it said today.

Reader Comments:

Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.

  • Michael Wand, Brentwood, Essex

    The greatest economic benefit to the North ought to come if an ‘HS3′ were built between its two biggest through-stations, Manchester Victoria and Leeds. Only 39 miles long, it would fast-connect the rail system of East Lancs to that of West Yorks, cutting through the economic barrier of the Pennines and halving rail times between the two city centres. It would also join up a Northern Cities Crossrail from as far west as Liverpool to as far east as York and Hull. For preference, I'd build this HS3 before HS2.
    (Didn't the Chancellor suggest such a line last autumn?--Editor)

  • MikeB, Liverpool

    David Cameron seemed to speak only about greatly improved journey times between Leeds and Manchester. Hence, many people from Merseyside and other parts of the North are beginning to think that HS3 is only going to be built between those two cities and therefore, they will be left out of the "big plans" to transform the economy outside of London. I therefore hope that it is simply because Osborne and Cameron made the announcement in Leeds and consequently had to refer to, what is presently, the busier part of the TransPennine route. Nevertheless, the full extent of the proposed HS3 route needs to be clarified as soon as possible.

  • Roger Capel, Sheffield

    Wait & see if the government grits its teeth & really pushes this long overdue piece of devolution.. Hopefully it won't get into a blue funk when the metropolitan based mandarins kick off about it, as it has previously.

  • Lutz, London

    So what exactly is HS3 intended to be when there are no specific plans, and with Higgins himself saying it will not operate at the same speeds proposed fro HS2?
    (Some form of (probably new) TransPennine route, and probably sub-300km/h. There isn't much more to know yet, and certainly nothing exact.--Editor.)

  • John Gilbert, Cradley, Herefordshire

    Mm. We shall see.

  • Tony Pearce, Reading

    Government announcements between now and the General Election are all 'electioneering'. No-one knows who is going to win, and who will partner who if the result is another Coalition. On Radio 4 this morning , I heard that the Treasury now estimated the costs of HS2 as £73 Billion and (according to Daily Mail) there was an enquiry under way to look at the costs and timing of the Project. True or Untrue ?

    (On your last point, a House of Lords Select Committee is currently taking evidence about the economic aspects of the scheme. The DM might be referring to that inquiry.--Editor.)

  • Jim Campbell, Birmingham

    Suddenly it is all about the north; Birmingham and the other midlands towns and cities need to get their act together or they will be left out.