HS2 phase two: Where will the route run?

The Government has announced further details the phase two routes on the planned HS2 railway, which will link northern parts of the country with London.

The full network is expected to serve Stafford, Liverpool, Preston, Warrington, Wigan, Carlisle, Glasgow, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle, and Edinburgh.

Phase two of the project will open in two stages. Phase 2a from the West Midlands to Crewe will open in 2027.

Phase 2b, from Crewe to Manchester and from the West Midlands to Leeds and the East Midlands, will open in 2033.

The western leg will:

  • continue north from Crewe to Manchester Airport

  • continue from Manchester Airport on to Manchester city centre, where a new HS2 station will be built next to Manchester Piccadilly

There will be a connection to Liverpool and to the existing West Coast main line allowing HS2 services to continue north, serving stations to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The eastern leg of HS2 will:

  • continue from the West Midlands to Toton in the East Midlands, where a new HS2 station will be built to serve Nottingham, Derby and the wider region

  • continue north from the East Midlands to South Yorkshire

  • from South Yorkshire, HS2 will continue to Leeds where a new HS2 station will be built in Leeds city centre

  • HS2 will also have a connection onto the East Coast Main Line, allowing it to serve York, Newcastle and other places in the north-east

Although most of the route is finalised, Transport Minister Chris Grayling says he is seeking "substantial refinements" to both legs of the route, which the government is consulting on.

On the western leg he wants to:

  • move the previously proposed rolling stock depot at Golborne to a site north of Crewe

  • move the approach to Manchester Piccadilly up to 370 metres eastwards with the northern tunnel portal in Ardwick, to avoid direct impacts on residential properties and a school at West Gorton

  • move the route in the Middlewich - Northwich area in Cheshire up to 800 metres westwards

On the eastern leg the Government would like to:

  • move the route to the east of Measham in Leicestershire, avoiding the most significant impacts on local manufacturing businesses and development sites

  • go around instead of tunnel under East Midlands Airport

  • amend the alignment of the preferred route as it passes through Long Eaton to reduce severance in the local community and reduce impacts on the highway network and existing rail infrastructure

  • move the alignment of the route from Derbyshire to West Yorkshire to reflect a change in the proposals for serving the Sheffield city region, as recommended by Sir David Higgins

Transport Minister Chris Grayling has said that HS2 will mean more seats for commuters and more space for moving goods up and down the country.

He said: "The building of HS2 will double the space for trains on the conventional routes into our big cities.

"That's more space for commuters, and more space for freight trains."

What do people who might be affected think?

Residents on a new housing estate who could lose their homes when HS2 is built have expressed their anger at the plans.

The new Shimmer housing estate in nearby Mexborough could be bulldozed if the preferred route goes ahead.

Houses are still being built, but they will be torn down if the high-speed rail line gets approved.

Houses are still in construction along the proposed HS2 route. Credit: ITV News

Sue and Pete Douglas bought their house two years ago expecting to spend their retirement there.

Speaking to ITV News, Sue said: "We're not people with feelings, with families and friends, with jobs, we are bricks and mortar, we are in the way and to be quite honest they don't care a jot what happens to us now or in the future."

Sue Douglas demonstrates how the rail line will be built straight through their house if the line gets approved. Credit: ITV News

Leigh Smith moved to the estate in June and said she found out about the HS2 plans just three weeks later.

She said: "We thought it was a joke. We used absolutely every bit of money we could get to buy this, it's our first home.

"I'm just devastated. We're all distraught. I've never seen my husband like it."

Another resident Rachel Ridler, 29, a charity fundraiser and mother of two, described the HS2 decision as "heartbreaking".

She said: "I just couldn't believe it in the first place. I thought maybe it's just cutting a corner of the estate, maybe it won't be going through my house, maybe they've got mixed up, maybe it's not really happening.

"But the more you look at it, the more you see that the whole of our estate is going to go and the more upset I got."