Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will initiate a study into adding a halt on the Lichfield Trent Valley to Redditch cross-city line at Curzon Street in Birmingham adjacent to the proposed Birmingham High Speed 2 (HS2) station to enhance connectivity with HS2 and with Birmingham City University and Millennium Point; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Secretary of State is seeking powers through the Hybrid Bill to construct the HS2 scheme as set out in that Bill. This does not include a new station adjacent to Curzon Street as proposed. There are a range of potential infrastructure schemes, such as new stations, which could further increase connections for the travelling public above and beyond the scheme set out in the Bill. The Department is not evaluating the case for such proposals and will therefore not undertake a study on a new station to serve Curzon Street. The Department will continue to work with local authorities who are taking the lead in identifying and evaluating options for wider connectivity that will extend the benefits offered by HS2.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average speed of travel of a Pendolino train was on the West Coast Mainline between (a) Euston and Birmingham, Curzon Street and (b) Euston and Handsacre in Staffordshire; and what the average speed of a train on the HS2 line is expected to be on each route.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The average journey time of a Pendolino between Euston and Birmingham city centre (New Street) is 1 hour 21 minutes. As set out in the Strategic Case for HS2 (October 2013), the average journey time of an HS2 train between Euston and Birmingham city centre (Curzon Street) will be 49 minutes – a saving of 32 minutes.
The maximum line speed for a Pendolino travelling on the West Coast Main line is 125mph. HS2 is designed for a top speed of 250mph. Plans envisage services running at up to 225mph, which is becoming the standard capability for new high speed trains.
There is no station for Handsacre on either the existing network or the HS2 network. The nearest relevant station is Crewe, for which comparative journey times are 1 hour 30 minutes for current services and 55 minutes by HS2 services – a saving of 35 minutes.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects an hourly rail service to commence between Birmingham and Aberystwyth.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The train service between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth is funded and specified by the Welsh Government. They have announced the two-hourly service will be enhanced by four extra journeys from May 2015 for an experimental period of three years. There are no UK Government plans to extend these extra services to Birmingham as the half-hourly frequency between Shrewsbury and Birmingham is considered sufficient to meet passenger demand.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of an extension to Crewe of the first phase of High Speed 2 on the (a) route through Lichfield constituency and (b) need for an additional railway line north of the City of Lichfield connecting the end of Phase one to the West Coast mainline.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
No decision has yet been made on Phase Two as we are still considering the responses to the public consultation. Sir David Higgins's proposals would see the Government's preferred route to Crewe, which formed part of the recent Phase Two consultation, constructed earlier. Therefore, it is not anticipated that Sir David's proposal alone would affect the route through the Lichfield constituency. However, the route of Phase Two through the Lichfield constituency is clearly subject to the outcomes of the recent public consultation.
The powers for Phase Two, including the section of line to Crewe, are proposed to be sought via a second hybrid Bill. As such the connection to the West Coast Main Line as part of the Phase One Bill is still required to allow Phase One to operate effectively and to enable destinations such as Stafford to benefit from high speed services.