Cheshire East Council has welcomed the announcement by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin that the Government is aiming to bring forward the construction of HS2.
The final route has yet to be decided but the Council is delighted that the Secretary of State has called for HS2 to be 'fast tracked' and indicated again that Crewe could become the first northern hub for HS2 before the 250mph service continues to Manchester to form a new super-fast link across the Pennines.
Mr McLoughlin said in a key speech in Leeds on Monday, 1st June "I want to see if we can bring HS2 to Crewe faster than planned, subject to further analysis and a decision on the preferred route.
"I'm determined to deliver the benefits to the north as fast as possible. So I'll prepare a dedicated Hybrid Bill in this Parliament."
Commenting on the announcement, Cheshire East Council Leader Councillor Michael Jones said: "This is fantastic news and a real game changer – not just for Crewe and Cheshire East, but for Stoke, North Staffordshire and the whole region.
"The benefits to Crewe and the surrounding area would be massive in terms of jobs and the economy – but we want to share the growth and benefits with our neighbours.
"This Council has put in an enormous amount of work over the past two years to secure HS2 for Crewe and the prospect of an early hybrid bill, which could confirm Crewe as the northern hub, is something we look forward to with great anticipation.
"We want the right solution for Crewe that would enable the economic benefits to be enjoyed across the whole sub-region, stretching along a corridor from North Staffordshire to North Wales and Merseyside.
"The hub station in Crewe would act as the gateway to the Northern Powerhouse and HS2 promises to bring a second railway revolution to the town and utterly transform its economic prospects.
"Now we need to get on with working together with our neighbouring authorities to secure the benefits for all."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Of course our current MP will be long departed to his four inherited Baronetcies in England and Ireland.
Wow and to think that during my many global business travels over the past 5 years, I must have been talking to robots because face-to-face meetings were abandoned in the year 2000.
Well I never.
Still, thanks for letting me know as I can now come home from this business conference in Spain as the 170 other European delegates here must all be hollograms.
Well either that or you only have a vague understanding of how business is actually conducted.
Great transport links are a catalyst for commercial growth and HS2 will only be a boon for Manchester and the North West.
As the cost will also be heavily subsidised by London tax payers, what's not to like?
So I say' bring it on ASAP.
How long do you think it will take to complete this project? Far longer than 15 years in all probabilty... you seem to only have a vague understanding of how major engineering works are actually conducted.
My little scenario referred to when (if) this thing is up and running, which clearly went over your head. Enjoy the San Miguel.
One fact often overlooked, in the mistaken desire to clip 20 minutes off a journey, is the amount of separation required between trains the faster they travel. I believe that the real issue is not really the time of the journey (within reason) but the number of passengers who need to be moved. The amount of train separation required on high-speed services such as HS2 and TGV (to allow a safe braking distance in the event of emergency) mitigates against a potentially busy route (such and the vanity project HS2) ever being successful.
Even a cursory look through the project finances, combined with past experience of major project cost creep, suggest very strongly that this scheme is fatally flawed and that money could be much better spent on improving existing services and routes.