Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which areas to the north of Birmingham on the West Coast Mainline will have increased (a) train paths and (b) platforms following the construction of phase two of HS2.

HS2 will provide high-speed inter-city services on dedicated lines that will free up train paths and platforms on the southern end of the West Coast Main Line, and generate much-needed additional network capacity. The indicative train service assumptions that underpinned the IRP and inform the HS2 and NPR business cases included HS2 services to several destinations on the north end of the West Coast Main Line.

Platform capacity at Crewe will increase as a result of the arrival of HS2 services. There will be 16 platforms in the new station layout, an increase of 4. Some of these will be bay platforms which will remove the conflict of mainline services such as HS2 and regional services, possibly opening up further timetabling options. Works to platforms at Preston and Carlisle are also planned as part of HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg.

No final decisions have been made on the train service that will run when HS2 becomes operational. These decisions will be taken nearer the time, drawing on advice from the West Coast Partnership and Network Rail, and will be subject to public consultation.