Transport Secretary Justine Greening announced today (10 January 2012) that Britain is to build a national high speed rail network which should be operating by 2026.

She went to St Pancras station in London, terminus of Britain’s only current high speed line, to announce that a Y-shaped network will link London to Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and the East Midlands.

New 250 mph trains will be able to travel on to the existing West Coast and East Coast main lines to serve passengers beyond the HS2 network in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Durham, York, Darlington, Liverpool, Preston, Wigan and Lancaster.

The new network will be built in two phases. The first will see construction of HS2, a new 140-mile line between London and Birmingham by 2026. Details of the route were published by the Department for Transport today with 79 miles of the 140-mile line running in tunnels or cuttings. This is a concession to MPs who complained about the line’s effect.

HS2 runs through 13 miles of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty but fresh mitigation measures mean that less than two miles will be at or above surface level.

The second phase will see lines built from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester by 2033. A formal consultation on second phase routes will begin in early 2014 with a final route chosen by the end of 2014.

The first phase of HS2 will include a connection to Europe via the Channel Tunnel. On completion of HS2 the network will include a direct link to Heathrow Airport.

HS2 is designed to relieve congestion on existing inter-city rail routes as well as roads and air routes.

The high speed line is expected to deliver £6.2 billion more in economic benefits than a line running at conventional speed.

For every £1 spent on the project, HS2 will produce £1.80 to £2.50 worth of economic benefit. It will take an estimated 9 million journeys off the road network and cut up to 4.5 million air journeys each year.

Double decker trains could be introduced to run on the HS2 network and would be compatible with HS1 and the Channel Tunnel, while services using both HS2 and existing rail lines will use standard-size non-double decker high speed trains.

Ms Greening said: “A new high speed rail network will help create jobs, growth and prosperity for the entire country. This is a truly British network that will serve far more than the cities directly on the line. HS2 is our generation’s investment in Britain and our children.”

The Government estimates the cost of the complete Y shaped network at £32 billion and expects it to generate benefits of £47 billion and fare revenues of up to £34 billion over a 60-year period.

Phase 1 of HS2 will run from a new Birmingham city centre station at Curzon Street to a rebuilt Euston station.

An interchange station will be built at Old Oak Common in West London, providing direct connections via Crossrail to the West End, City and Docklands, to the South West and Wales via the Great Western main line and to Heathrow via Heathrow Express.

A second interchange station will be constructed where the route passes the National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham Airport, close to Junction 6 of the M42.

A direct link to HS1 will be provided in tunnel from Old Oak Common to the existing North London line, from where existing infrastructure can be used to reach the HS1 line north of St Pancras.

Phase 2 will see the new high speed line running on to Manchester and separately to Leeds. HS2 Ltd is currently engaged in detailed planning work for options for these routes, including stations in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire, as well as for a spur link to Heathrow.

Information from the Department for Transport.