Hammond announces preferred high-speed rail route

Philip Hammond, the transport secretary, has announced that the Y route, taking high speed lines from London to Manchester and Leeds, is the preferred choice for HS2.

A high-speed line would connect London and Birmingham, where it would divide. The Leeds link would go via the East Midlands and South Yorkshire and was chosen over the S route, that would have taken the line via the Pennines. One of the main reasons being that the Y route is predicted to offer the best return on investment, returning £2 for every £1.

Mr Hammond explained some of the logic behind building a UK high-speed rail network by giving an example of how if someone was in Japan and thinking about making an investment in the UK, they immediately think of London.  “When you find out it’s going to take you three and a half hours to get to where you’re planning to build your new factory in the north east, that’s a limiting factor for you.”

HS1 services at St Pancras International station. PIc: www.upmain.com