Rail expert rubbishes Andy Burnham HS2 alternative plan

Commissioned by the mayor and his then-counterpart in the West Midlands Andy Street, the report puts forward a ‘Midlands-North West Rail Link’ plan which would see much of the original HS2 route from Crewe to Manchester built.

However, the plan –  put together by consultancy firm Arup – says it will cut costs by reducing the loading gauge – or clearance between the train and structures such as tunnels – and by using ballasted track, where rails are supported by a layer of crushed rock and gravel, rather than concrete slab track, which means rails are fixed on to a solid base.

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Gareth Dennis is a railway engineer and writer who has lectured at the University of Birmingham.

He said: “Anyone who’s close to public transport – so particularly the mayor’s offices in the West Midlands and Greater Manchester – know that that corridor between the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside is absolutely jampacked – whether it’s the road, the railways, that whole transport corridor is completely saturated.

“That’s local networks, regional networks as much as any other – that’s the context.”

HS2 was severely cut back last year by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (Image: PA)

The 33-year-old, who lives in York, says the cost-cutting proposals would lead to a poorer performing railway and would actually increase costs instead.

Now, he’s calling on Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to ‘burn some political capital’ and back the original HS2 plans.

He added: “A lot of the information in the report about the favoured option, which appears to be use the existing route of HS2, so where all the land has been purchased, but save costs by doing a few different things engineering-wise.

“The trouble is, those changes are not rooted in any reality, for a couple of reasons.

“At the highest level, if they make any changes to the design against what has been currently proposed and progressed, it will have to go through more consultation, it will have to go through hundreds of millions of pounds of additional design, and it will therefore be delayed by years and cost more.”

As well as increased costs through consultation, Gareth says some of the recommendations, such as using ballasted track rather than concrete slabs, would cost more in the long-run – with additional maintenance required and the construction of more maintenance sidings.

He continued: “Slab track is where the rails are actually set onto a continuous concrete path, roadway really almost  that the rails sit on top of.

“It’s much cheaper to maintain, almost zero pounds to maintain, and it’s much more robust and resilient to higher speeds, higher tonnages, and crucially climate change – you don’t have to worry about the old track buckling and this sort of stuff with slab track.”

The plans recommended by the report would see a new railway following the original plans for HS2, but running at a slower speed (Image: Midlands-Northwest Rail Link) Follow The Bolton News on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and TikTok.

Of course, not everyone even thinks any version of HS2 or a new railway is needed.

Many have claimed the project is too London focussed, and instead want more investment in regional transport projects.

Gareth, however, says this is a misunderstanding of the HS2 project.

He said: “I’d suggest they don’t understand how railways work – the challenge for the north is that a lot of capacity is used up by moving long distance services going north-south.

“The whole point of HS2 was to take those north-south services, place them on to their own infrastructure to free up the existing railway to allow more services to run, for example to Bolton, places like Warrington, places like Rochdale, Stockport.

“All these various, substantial cities that are part of the larger conurbation – they’re almost large enough cities themselves to have their own dedicated suburban transport systems, let alone having a pretty poor connection into the centre of Manchester, Liverpool, or across the Pennines.

“The big challenge is you’ve got this conflict between east-west and north-south long distance services, and HS2 was a big part of providing a massive relief for the existing railway network, not least to allow more freight to run on the main corridors.

“What it does is basically give the local and regional railway back to local and regional leaders, that’s what HS2 is about: taking those long distances services and getting them out of the way of our local railway network.

“Really what HS2 represented was a local transport revolution, and every time it’s watered down that revolution gets less and less like a revolution and more like an increment.”

Gareth Dennis is a railway engineer and writer (Image: Gareth Dennis)

Report authors call for more work

A spokesperson for the Midlands-North West Rail Link consortium said: “An entirely new railway, offers the highest net benefits with a step-change in capacity and network performance.

“Lower cost than the previous HS2 scheme, Concept C is also a higher attractive suggestion to private investors, and would ensure that time and capital is not wasted trying to upgrade or unblock existing issues.

“HS2 was to be entirely funded through central government grants, however this approach is not right for the Midlands-North West Rail Link, given the constraints on the Treasury.

“Our approach will be approximately 60 to 75 per cent of the capital cost of the former HS2 Phase 2 scheme.

“In a similar scenario to the Tours-Bordeaux project, a blended approach will be required to fund and finance our recommendations.

“There have been various estimates provided for Phases 2a and 2b by HS2 Ltd and others, which include both the estimated capital costs but also contingencies and allowances for land and accommodation works.

“We have concluded that to include a figure for the cost of the scheme in our review could be compared against a number of different third party figures and so the impact of the changes we propose will be lost in a conversation about HS2 cost estimation. 

“Our cost team have therefore looked at the changes we have proposed to both the physical work and the procurement, to understand the impact of the changes we are proposing in comparison with the current approach.  This has been used to build up the 60 to 75 per cent estimate.  

“Our asks of government include a request for more work on the cost estimates for our proposals.”

Andy Burnham contacted for comment

Asked for comment, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority referred The Bolton News to a press release issued upon the publication of the Midlands-North West Rail Link plan.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham commissioned the report alongside then-West Midlands Mayor Andy Street (Image: Newsquest)

A quote issued by Mayor Andy Burnham reads: “The report is clear: if we fail to put in place a plan soon to fix rail capacity and connectivity between the North and the Midlands, the already-congested West Coast Main Line and M6 will become major barriers to economic growth in the UK.

“But there is good news for the Government. The report concludes that we do not have to revive HS2 to unlock those benefits. There is a viable option to build a new rail line between Lichfield and High Legh, connecting HS2 to Northern Powerhouse Rail, with almost all of the benefits of HS2 delivered quickly and crucially at a significantly lower cost.

“Doing nothing is not an option as demand for rail services on the West Coast Main Line is set to exceed capacity within a decade. We are ready to work with Government, colleagues in the West Midlands and the business community to build a railway fit for the 21st century. But we do need early decisions to end the uncertainty.”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.