Proposed high-speed rail route revealed

The proposed second phase of the high-speed rail link HS2 was confirmed today – and if approved it will be coming very close to Stone.

You can see a map of the proposed route HERE – it roughly follows the M6 near Stone and passes near Walton, Darlaston and Swynnerton, skirting round Swynnerton Park on its way north.

Stone MP Bill Cash has called a public meeting in Swynnerton at 1pm on Saturday 2nd February. It will take place at Swynnerton Park Cricket Club. He says he has “grave concerns” about the route of HS2 through his constituency.

Today’s announcement details the northern extension of the already-planned London to Birmingham HS2 line as far as Manchester and Leeds. The Government says the new rail link is needed to cut journey times, ease overcrowding and boost regional business.

Staffordshire County Council’s transport leader today vowed to win best deal for local communities and the regional economy.

Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, announced that the preferred option for the next phase of the high speed rail link would see the route continue to Manchester Airport and Manchester via Crewe.

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Mike Maryon, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said the council would now be examining in greater detail the impact of the proposed route on the county and vowed to continue to work hard with partners to mitigate the impact on communities.

Mike said: “Today’s announcement for the route means less of Staffordshire will be cut through, but the impact of the new route on communities and the environment will still be significant and we now need to look at this in more detail. We have worked closely with communities likely to be affected in Phase One of HS2 and will be bringing this experience, knowledge and commitment to get the very best outcome for those likely to be affected by this next phase.”

While not supporting the proposals, Cllr Maryon said the county council recognised the importance of working closely with HS2 Limited to ensure they understand the impact the proposed route will have on our county.

Mike added: “We need to ensure that any benefits from HS2 are transferred across the county to ’compensate’ for the impact of the line without any clear and confirmed benefits to Staffordshire residents and our environment.”

The publication of the 211-mile northern Phase 2 route of HS2 shows details of the Y-shaped link to Manchester and Leeds. If approved, the route would cut through swathes of Staffordshire on the Manchester link and skim Tamworth going towards Leeds.

There will be five new stations at Manchester, Manchester Airport, East Midlands, Meadowhall and Leeds.

The final route will be chosen by the end of 2014.