HS2 official Partner to CompeteFor

HS2 is a new high speed railway linking up London, the Midlands and the North, serving eight of Britain’s 10 largest cities.

HS2 Phase One will open between 2029 and 2033 and run from London to Birmingham over 134 miles, through 31 miles of tunnels and over 10 miles of viaducts delivering quicker journeys on more trains with more seats.

Phase Two will extend the route to Manchester and Leeds, by adding 209 miles, through 15 miles of tunnels, and on 28 miles of viaduct.

Once operational, HS2 will serve over 25 stations connecting around 30 million people. HS2 will significantly improve connectivity in the North and Midlands and will also integrate the existing network serving stations into Scotland, creating 500,000 extra jobs and 90,000 homes around HS2 stations.

There are three main benefits of HS2:

• Connectivity – better transport links between our cities and regions is bringing more investment to the Midlands and North, helping to level up the country
• Capacity – taking inter-city trains off the existing rail network will free up more space for commuter and freight services, helping to relieve overcrowding and take lorries off the road.
• Carbon – HS2 will be the low carbon option for long distance travel, emitting 17 times less carbon than the equivalent domestic flight and 7 times less carbon than the equivalent car journey.