HighSpeed UK
HighSpeed UK (HSUK) is an advocacy group which proposes an alternative route to HS2 which broadly incorporates the proposed HS3 scheme. Its recommended route would follow the M1 motorway corridor northwards out of London, heading up the eastern side of the Pennines towards Edinburgh and Glasgow, roughly following the route of the existing East Coast Mainline. The route would use a combination of newly constructed track and updated track on existing lines. Cities in the English Midlands and Northern England would be connected to this line via a series of spurs diverging west, with a branch serving Birmingham and another branch serving Manchester and Liverpool. The Manchester branch would be linked to the main HSUK line via a Y-shaped connection which would allow trains also to serve Sheffield and Leeds, covering much of the proposed HS3 route. The HSUK proposal is not officially approved or funded by government.[1] The scheme received a parliamentary hearing in 2015.[2]
Route
The Route would follow from Euston on the go north to Brent Cross Interchange before heading to Birmingham's New Street but on the way would branch off to Luton, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Reading, Southampton & Bournemouth as well as Northampton, Bristol, Cardiff & Plymouth. It would head towards Glasgow Central via Leicester, York, Darlington, Newcastle & Edinburgh Waverley with a spur to Liverpool Lime Street via Manchester Piccadilly, Sheffield Meadowhall & Leeds City.There would be links to Doncaster, Newark, Lincoln, Cleethorpes, Peterborough, Norwich, Hull, Cambridge, Ipswich, Crewe, Stockport, Derby, Stoke, Nottingham, Blackburn, Carlisle, Warrington, Shrewsbury, Chester, Holyhead, Wolverhampton & Walsall.
- Route-London
The terminus at London's Euston would have an interconnection between St Pancras, Euston, Tottenham Court Road & Waterloo there would also be a spur to Heathrow before heading to a new Brent Cross Interchange before heading North. The Interconnection would improve links to parts of London and the West Coast Mainline could be used for Crossrail extension to Milton Keynes. There have been suggestions about linking Heathrow to Gatwick by a new High Speed Line.
- Route-Birmingham
When HSUK reaches Birmingham it would use newly upgraded approaches in the east before heading to Birmingham Moor Street and Birmingham New Street then it would exit to a newly upgraded Western Approaches and a new link to Tame Bridge.
- Route-Sheffield
The route would split going to Leeds but the other would approach Meadowhall Interchange before heading to Liverpool. It would use a newly upgraded link to Sheffield Midland and Approaching South West. It would also restore the old Woodhead line and link at Tinsley.
- Route-Manchester
The line would meet Manchester Piccadilly from three different directions from the exciting West Coast Mainline and the Eastern and Western Approaches would all allow some trains to Terminate at Piccadilly station but many would continue to Liverpool via a new East-West tunnel under Manchester Piccadilly.
- Route-Liverpool
The line would head towards Liverpool Lime Street then merge with the exciting Mainline approaching Lime Street with a second approach linking Wales and other parts of The Midlands and the South of England.
References
- ↑ "About HSUK". High Speed UK. High Speed North Limited. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ↑ "The Economics of High Speed 2; Chapter 5: Alternatives to Provide Capacity". Parliament.UK. 2015.