Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the contribution that the Hoo Green to Bamfurlong spur of High Speed 2 is likely to make to reducing capacity constraints on the West Coast Main Line; and what account that estimate takes of (a) rail freight and (b) passenger services to Warrington Bank Quay and elsewhere.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Network Rail has identified^[1] that crowding issues on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) mean that, whilst there is the potential to run a small number of additional services, the WCML will be effectively full by 2024. The lack of capacity will become even more acute beyond 2024 as demand continues to grow. This will negatively affect both freight and passenger services. The western leg of HS2 Phase Two alleviates these capacity constraints in the Warrington area.

^[1] Network Rail: West Coast Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy