According to a report, trips on the line between London and Manchester would take no more than fifteen minutes than they would have under the original HS2 plans.
Additionally, the trip would take 30 minutes less time than it does now.
The new route might provide “roughly 85% of the benefits of HS2 Phase 2” for 60–75% of the cost, according to the consortium behind it.
increasing The mayors of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands commissioned the assessment, which concluded that building a new rail link between the Midlands and the North West is essential to increase capacity for it.
It happens over a year after HS2’s West Midlands-Manchester extension proposal was shelved due to skyrocketing costs by then-prime minister Rishi Sunak.
Now, a coalition of business sector organizations led by Sir David Higgins, the former chairman of HS2 Ltd., has dubbed the proposed alternative new line between Lichfield, Staffordshire, and High Legh, Cheshire, connecting with the proposed east-west Northern Powerhouse Rail, a “golden opportunity.”
