The Financial Times reports that “Second Crossrail line seen as vital for HS2”.
Mike Brown, managing director of the Tube, said that without extra rail capacity within the capital, the terminus for the so-called High Speed 2 line at London’s Euston station would “fall apart” because of the volume of passengers.
Transport for London forecasts that passenger arrivals at Euston in the three-hour morning peak would jump from 23,500 in 2009 to 57,000 in 2033 when HS2 is due to be fully open.
It should come as no surprise to the Department for Transport that Euston could not cope with the number of passengers being forecast by HS2 Ltd. This was noted by the London Assembly’s response to the 2011 national consultation on HS2.
We also share with local groups, other elected representatives and transport providers concerns over the dispersal of thousands of extra HS2 passengers during the morning rush hour, particularly when the full Y network is in operation. This will particularly affect the Victoria and Northern tube lines, which already experience severe over-crowding. Additional tube capacity, in the form of a new line linking Chelsea and Hackney (‘Crossrail 2’) should be constructed during Phase 1 of the scheme to ensure that local transport services are not swamped by the new passengers created by HS2. This would help unlock the bottleneck at Euston and ensure that faster inter-city journeys are not wasted due to delays in accessing transport in central London.
(You can still download the Stop HS2 2011 submission to the London Assembley’s Examination into HS2.)
It’s clear that the need for Crossrail 2 is separate from HS2 – after all the current safeguarded Crossrail 2 route has been in force since June 2008 (replacing an earlier 1991 safeguarded route). However it highlights an issue which will come up around all the other stations on the HS2 route: the need to build more transport infrastructure to enable people to get to and from the stations to use the HS2 trains, if the plans go ahead. This has not been included as part of the headline £33 billion cost of HS2 Phases 1 and 2.
Lets all now vote for ukip the only party with any sense of what the people want and put a stop to hs2
Is our govenment trying to bring in the paving bill before the courts give us there views on hs2 I think if this caring govenment. Of ours should wait and see what the courts say first before anymore money is spent on this project .they are just not interested in listening to any ones views all they want is there fast train the people north to south can just shut up and put up we as a govenment want this and we are going ahead even if we can not afford it so if we close a few hospitals close some schools cut our police we will find the vast amount of money needed and just think about it we will have a new train for 2030 we need to join all of our northern friends and put a stop to this venture now
I agree with all the above letters.I do hope you will all make the effort to tell you friends about the new e petition above.and that you have all signed we can only win if we all do something to make people aware what is going on.
Another thing about all these commuters is that they’re all descending on London. People living in London are not expected to be commuting to the northern cities. More evidence if it’s needed that London will suck the life out of the north.
Do not worry about the dozen or so tree,s the govenment are using they will have plenty of them to choose from when they take down all of our woodlands people’s gardens graveyards ect they just do not care about anyone’s lives all they want is there train set we can not afford and no one wants I do hope we can count on our courts to stop this project in its tracks before any more damage is done and any more of our money is waisted
The funny thing is that the lobbyists want Crossrail 2 built next, in time for the current forecast growth in London traffic and before commuters arrive on HS2 to work in London. That means it would have to be built at the same time as HS2. But HS2 will eat all the capital budget over its construction period. This is beacuse we can only fund one large rail project at a time (the current being Crossrail). So, how could this be done? One option, delay HS2 and get Crossrail 2 built.
Anyhow, Euston is 6 miles from the centre of London and the Central Business District (CBD). It is only a matter of time before the DfT gets HS2 to look again at the location of the Southern terminus for HS2.
Euston is on Euston Road and Is in Centra London with the West End just a short walk away and even The City can be walked to via Euston Road, Pentonville Roacf and City Road a walk I have done since childhood!
I suggest you search for Crossrail 3 for an item by firmer Mayor Ken on linking Euston to Waterloo!
Where will all these commuters come from?
I can understand that people would want to live in the suburbs or the country and commute into the city for work but commuting from one city to another city makes no sense at all. Why would anyone want to live in Birmingham or Leeds or Manchester and work in London? Any housing cost advantage would be cancelled out by the cost of commuting. These ‘great northern cities’ need to be more self reliant and not become dormitory towns for London.
Yet another co-ordinated campaign with clear links to HS2.
The Cross Rail 2 lobby became very active last week, enough time for the HS2 2nd phase to retreat a bit from the media.
Look at the Motley Crew behind LONDON FIRST one of the vociferous non elected bodies clamoring for CR2.
It includes the Lord Adonis of HS2 ambition, and a raft of businesses and interests (check the member and partner list)
To quote “A non profit making organization..aiming to influence national and local government and investment decisions part of their interest is infrastructure improvements and community facilities. Ie spending national money.
Unelected, non representational, self interested parties determining out future by stealth and influence.
They are all after public money, benefitting from blight creation and rude capitalist greed.
It has all been seen before.
There are considerable ‘development’ and ‘regeneration, interests throughout the HS2 route .
It is being unveiled in a stage managed way to detract from the likely adverse public response.
The jigsaw is not displayed and the full picture fragmented deliberately.
The balances and checks in society work on the pieces not the whole.
Through stealth and subterfuge they share a conceptual link to the Trojan Horse and Pandora’s box.
Something shiny and exciting offering a seeming gift/ panacea to societal woes in truth holds a nasty surprise.
Hope is indeed fragile within this cynical system.