Key HS2 facts

Find out about: 

Capacity
Journey times
Speeds
Economic benefits
Jobs
Costs
Route
Carbon
Noise
Trains
Safety

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Capacity

• up to 14 trains per hour in each direction for Phase 1, rising to 18 for Phase 2
• up to 1,100 seats per train

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Journey times 

We have revised our assumed service specification for the Y network (see the Economic Case for HS2: Updated appraisal of transport user benefits and wider economic benefits). Our updated journey times for the Y network are based on the most direct services available according to this service specification.

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Speeds

• HS2 trains will have speeds of up to 225 mph
• we will design the track so that is has a capability of 250 mph

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Economic benefits

• the benefit to cost ratio (including the wider economic benefits) is around £2 for every £1 spent for the Y network
• we estimate the full Y network will cost £32.7 billion (in 2011 prices) to build and will generate benefits of £47 billion and fare revenues of up to £34 billion over 60 years

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Jobs

• We expect phase 1 of HS2 will support around 40,000 jobs – consisting of:
  o        9,000 jobs during construction
  o        1,500 permanent operational jobs
  o        Over 30,000 jobs in the regeneration and development areas associated with station developments

• There will be even more significant opportunities for jobs growth with the wider Y network

These job figures are only those most directly linked to the Government’s proposals. They do not include broader employment growth supported by either the new line, or the reuse of released capacity on existing routes (e.g. support for job creation in Milton Keynes).

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Costs

• we estimate the first phase of HS2, including allowances for risk and optimism bias of more than 60%, will cost around £16.3bn to construct (in 2011 prices)
• we estimate a full Y-shaped high speed network including links to the Channel Tunnel and Heathrow and allowances for risk and optimism bias of more than 60%, will cost £32.7bn to construct (in 2011 prices)

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Route

• the London to Birmingham line will be around 140 miles long
• the total Y network will be around 330 miles long
• more than half the 140 mile route will be in cuttings or tunnels
• around 56.5 miles will be partially or totally hidden in cutting to reduce visual effects and noise in neighbouring communities
• in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) over 11 miles of the route through the AONB will be in tunnel, green tunnel or cutting, with just over a mile and a half of the line on the surface
• line of route:
  o   HS2 will run from London (Euston station), through the Chilterns, Warwickshire to Birmingham International, South Northamptonshire and, central Birmingham (Curzon Street station)
  o   it will join the West Coast Main Line (WCML) north of Lichfield for services on to Manchester and Leeds
  o   leaving Euston, the route will run in tunnel for about 4.5 miles, surfacing at a new interchange station at Old Oak Common in north-west London
  o   passengers will be able to interchange at Old Oak Common with Crossrail, Heathrow Express and Great Western Main Line services
  o   the line will be in tunnel through Ruislip in West London
  o   tunnelling in the Chilterns AONB will include a continuous tunnel from the M25 to Little Missenden and a green tunnel past Wendover
  o   through Northamptonshire and Warwickshire much of the route will be in cutting with sections of tunnel around Turweston, Chipping Warden, Southam and Burton Green
  o   a new interchange station will be constructed where the route passes the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Birmingham Airport
  o   the route will continue west of Tamworth to Lichfield, where it will join the WCML for services to Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland
  o   a junction at Water Orton will provide a link into Birmingham city centre, following the existing rail corridor and terminating at a new high speed station at Curzon Street

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Carbon

• the initial London-West Midlands line will be broadly neutral on carbon, once potential for passengers changing their mode of transport from air travel to high speed rail is taken into account
• we estimate that as many as 4.5 million air trips and 9 million road trips a year will shift onto rail with the Y network in place – this will help reduce carbon emissions
• overall, we plan to plant 2 million trees along the proposed route between London and the West Midlands

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Noise

• fewer than five properties may experience high noise levels
• around 60 properties are likely to experience levels of noise which will qualify for noise insulation under the Noise Insulation Regulations (this is less than half that of the consultation route)
• the number of properties that may experience a noticeable increase in noise is reduced by a third, from 4,700 to around 3,100, compared with the consultation route

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Trains

• two basic types of train will operate on HS2 lines, high speed only trains – which run only on high speed track - and classic compatible trains – which run on high speed track and the existing network
• up to 400m long (200m single unit 400m when two units operate as a pair)
• up to 1,100 seats per train

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Safety

• all trains will meet European standards known as the Technical Specifications for Interoperability and will have high levels of reliability and safety

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