104-590: High Speed 2 ( HS2 ) is a high-speed railway which is under construction in England. The line will run between Handsacre , in southern Staffordshire , and London, with a spur to Birmingham . HS2 is to be Britain's second purpose-built high-speed railway after High Speed 1 , which connects London to the Channel Tunnel . London and Birmingham will be served directly by new high speed track, and services to Glasgow , Liverpool and Manchester will use
208-567: A 9.8-mile (15.8 km) tunnel under the Chiltern Hills , to emerge near South Heath , northwest of Amersham . The route will roughly parallel the A413 road and the London to Aylesbury Line , to the west of Wendover . This is a green cut-and-cover tunnel under farmland, with soil spread over the final construction in order to reduce visual impact and noise, and allow use of the land above
312-645: A branch to a terminus in Leeds , and the western branch would have had connections to the West Coast Main Line at Crewe and south of Wigan, and a branch to a terminus in Manchester . Between November 2021 and October 2023 the project was progressively cut until only the London to Handsacre and Birmingham section remained. The project has both supporters and opponents . Supporters of HS2 believe that
416-530: A branch to the Midland Main Line north of Derby for trains to continue to Sheffield. The original scheme also included a through station at Toton , between Nottingham and Derby. The HS2 eastern section was largely eliminated, leaving a branch from Coleshill near Birmingham to East Midlands Parkway station, just south of Nottingham and Derby, where the HS2 track would end, with trains continuing north onto
520-408: A carbody design that would reduce wind resistance at high speeds. A long series of tests was carried. In 1905, St. Louis Car Company built a railcar for the traction magnate Henry E. Huntington , capable of speeds approaching 160 km/h (100 mph). Once it ran 32 km (20 mi) between Los Angeles and Long Beach in 15 minutes, an average speed of 130 km/h (80 mph). However, it
624-578: A high-speed railway network in Russian gauge . There are no narrow gauge high-speed railways. Countries whose legacy network is entirely or mostly of a different gauge than 1435mm – including Japan and Spain – have however often opted to build their high speed lines to standard gauge instead of the legacy railway gauge. High-speed rail is the fastest and most efficient ground-based method of commercial transportation. However, due to requirements for large track curves, gentle gradients and grade separated track
728-483: A maximum speed of 360 km/h (225 mph) when operating on HS2 track, dropping to 201 km/h (125 mph) on conventional track. The length of the new line has been reduced substantially since it was first announced in 2013. It was originally to split into eastern and western branches north of Birmingham Interchange; the eastern branch would have connected to the Midland Main Line and East Coast Main Line , with
832-482: A mix of new high speed track and the existing West Coast Main Line . The majority of the project is planned to be completed by 2033. The new track will be built between London Euston and Handsacre, near Lichfield in southern Staffordshire, where a junction connects to the north-south West Coast Main Line . There will be new stations at Old Oak Common in northwest London; Birmingham Interchange , near Solihull ; and Birmingham city centre . The trains will reach
936-655: A new museum quarter, with the original station building becoming a new museum of photography, fronting onto a new Curzon Square, which will also be home to Ikon 2 , a museum of contemporary art. Clearing the site for construction commenced in December 2018. Grimshaw Architects received planning permission for three applications in April 2020. The new station is expected to have a zero-carbon rating and over 2,800 square metres (30,000 sq ft) of solar panels. The plan makes provision for HS2 service passenger interchanges to
1040-546: A new top speed for a regular service, with a top speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). This train was a streamlined multi-powered unit, albeit diesel, and used Jakobs bogies . Following the success of the Hamburg line, the steam-powered Henschel-Wegmann Train was developed and introduced in June 1936 for service from Berlin to Dresden , with a regular top speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). Incidentally no train service since
1144-464: A positive economic impact, and that favourable journey times and ample capacity will generate a modal shift from air and road to rail. On 21 August 2019, the DfT ordered an independent review of the project. The review was chaired by Douglas Oakervee , a British civil engineer , who had been HS2's non-executive chairman for nearly two years. The review was published by the DfT on 11 February 2020, alongside
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#17327719859441248-555: A some other interurban rail cars reached about 145 km/h (90 mph) in commercial traffic. The Red Devils weighed only 22 tons though they could seat 44 passengers. Extensive wind tunnel research – the first in the railway industry – was done before J. G. Brill in 1931 built the Bullet cars for Philadelphia and Western Railroad (P&W). They were capable of running at 148 km/h (92 mph). Some of them were almost 60 years in service. P&W's Norristown High Speed Line
1352-462: A statement from the Prime Minister confirming that HS2 would go ahead in full, with reservations. Oakervee's conclusions were that the original rationale for High Speed 2—to provide capacity and reliability on the rail network—was still valid, and that no "shovel-ready" interventions existed that could be deployed within the timeframe of the project. As a consequence, Oakervee recommended that
1456-577: A tunnel bored under Long Itchington Wood, the route will pass through rural areas between Kenilworth and Coventry , crossing the A46 to enter the West Midlands. Birmingham Interchange Station will be on the outskirts of Solihull , close to the strategic road network, including the M42 , M6 , M6 toll , and A45 . These roads will be crossed on viaducts. The station is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and
1560-569: A world record for narrow gauge trains at 145 km/h (90 mph), giving the Odakyu engineers confidence they could safely and reliably build even faster trains at standard gauge. Conventional Japanese railways up until that point had largely been built in the 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) Cape gauge , however widening the tracks to standard gauge ( 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in )) would make very high-speed rail much simpler due to improved stability of
1664-476: Is a set of unique features, not merely a train travelling above a particular speed. Many conventionally hauled trains are able to reach 200 km/h (124 mph) in commercial service but are not considered to be high-speed trains. These include the French SNCF Intercités and German DB IC . The criterion of 200 km/h (124 mph) is selected for several reasons; above this speed,
1768-608: Is expected to be fully complete in May 2025. High-speed rail High-speed rail ( HSR ) is a type of rail transport network utilizing trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks . While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines built to handle speeds above 250 km/h (155 mph) or upgraded lines in excess of 200 km/h (125 mph) are widely considered to be high-speed. The first high-speed rail system,
1872-514: Is immediately adjacent to Moor Street station , and approximately 400 metres (0.25 mi) northeast of New Street station , which is separated from Curzon and Moor streets by the Bull Ring . Passenger interchange with Moor Street would be at street level, across Moor Street Queensway; interchange with New Street would be via a pedestrian walkway between Moor Street and New Street (opened in 2013). In September 2018, one of Birmingham's oldest pubs,
1976-539: Is still in use, almost 110 years after P&W in 1907 opened their double-track Upper Darby–Strafford line without a single grade crossing with roads or other railways. The entire line was governed by an absolute block signal system. On 15 May 1933, the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft company introduced the diesel-powered " Fliegender Hamburger " in regular service between Hamburg and Berlin (286 km or 178 mi), thereby achieving
2080-570: Is the shortest on the route and will take passengers underneath an ancient woodland. The Bromford tunnel will take trains into Birmingham city centre . In April 2023, HS2 announced that work on the Euston tunnels linking Old Oak Common to Euston was being deferred and that tunnel-boring had been rescheduled to start in summer 2025. In October 2023, the Government announced that any Euston terminus would not be government-funded. However, in May 2024,
2184-619: The Chicago-New York Electric Air Line Railroad project to reduce the running time between the two big cities to ten hours by using electric 160 km/h (99 mph) locomotives. After seven years of effort, however, less than 50 km (31 mi) of arrow-straight track was finished. A part of the line is still used as one of the last interurbans in the US. In the US, some of the interurbans (i.e. trams or streetcars which run from city to city) of
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#17327719859442288-553: The 0 Series Shinkansen , built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries – in English often called "Bullet Trains", after the original Japanese name Dangan Ressha ( 弾丸列車 ) – outclassed the earlier fast trains in commercial service. They traversed the 515 km (320 mi) distance in 3 hours 10 minutes, reaching a top speed of 210 km/h (130 mph) and sustaining an average speed of 162.8 km/h (101.2 mph) with stops at Nagoya and Kyoto. Speed
2392-681: The Aérotrain , a French hovercraft monorail train prototype, reached 200 km/h (120 mph) within days of operation. After the successful introduction of the Japanese Shinkansen in 1964, at 210 km/h (130 mph), the German demonstrations up to 200 km/h (120 mph) in 1965, and the proof-of-concept jet-powered Aérotrain , SNCF ran its fastest trains at 160 km/h (99 mph). In 1966, French Infrastructure Minister Edgard Pisani consulted engineers and gave
2496-685: The Channel Tunnel . In 2009, the Department for Transport (DfT) under the Labour government proposed to assess the case for a second high-speed line, which was to be developed by a new company, High Speed Two Limited (HS2 Ltd). In December 2010, following a review by the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition , a route was proposed, subject to public consultation, based on a Y-shaped route from London to Birmingham with branches to Leeds and Manchester , as originally put forward by
2600-614: The Elizabeth Line and Great Western Line . The plan makes provision for HS2 service passenger interchanges on foot to the West Coast main Line and London Underground ("Tube") services via the adjacent Euston tube station and Euston square tube station . The West Midlands Metro , a tram service, is to serve Curzon Street, providing access to onward services from Birmingham Snow Hill , Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton . There are five twin-bore tunnel sections on
2704-581: The Fox and Grapes , was demolished to make way for the new developments. The West Midlands Metro will be extended to serve the station. Development planning for the Fazeley Street quarter of Birmingham has changed as a result of HS2. Prior to the announcement of the HS2 station, Birmingham City University had planned to build a new campus in Eastside . The proposed Eastside development will now include
2808-590: The Marienfelde – Zossen line during 1902 and 1903 (see Experimental three-phase railcar ). On 23 October 1903, the S&;H-equipped railcar achieved a speed of 206.7 km/h (128.4 mph) and on 27 October the AEG-equipped railcar achieved 210.2 km/h (130.6 mph). These trains demonstrated the feasibility of electric high-speed rail; however, regularly scheduled electric high-speed rail travel
2912-647: The Morning Hiawatha service, hauled at 160 km/h (99 mph) by steam locomotives. In 1939, the largest railroad of the world, the Pennsylvania Railroad introduced a duplex steam engine Class S1 , which was designed to be capable of hauling 1200 tons passenger trains at 161 km/h (100 mph). The S1 engine was assigned to power the popular all-coach overnight premier train the Trail Blazer between New York and Chicago since
3016-648: The North London line and Hythe Road on the West London line . Birmingham Interchange will be a through station situated in suburban Solihull, within a triangle of land enclosed by the M42 , A45 , and A452 highways. A people mover with a capacity of over 2,100 passengers per hour in each direction will connect the station to the National Exhibition Centre , Birmingham Airport , and
3120-545: The Prussian state railway joined with ten electrical and engineering firms and electrified 72 km (45 mi) of military owned railway between Marienfelde and Zossen . The line used three-phase current at 10 kilovolts and 45 Hz . The Van der Zypen & Charlier company of Deutz, Cologne built two railcars, one fitted with electrical equipment from Siemens-Halske , the second with equipment from Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), that were tested on
3224-550: The South East , as HS2 will reduce travel times from London to Birmingham Airport to under 40 minutes. Birmingham Curzon Street will be the terminal station at the end of a branch that connects to the HS2 spine via a junction at Coleshill . A station of the same name existed on the Curzon Street site between 1838 and 1966; the surviving Grade I listed station building will be retained and renovated. The site
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3328-729: The Tōkaidō Shinkansen , began operations in Honshu , Japan, in 1964. Due to the streamlined spitzer -shaped nose cone of the trains , the system also became known by its English nickname bullet train . Japan's example was followed by several European countries, initially in Italy with the Direttissima line, followed shortly thereafter by France , Germany , and Spain . Today, much of Europe has an extensive network with numerous international connections. More recent construction since
3432-532: The United Kingdom , the United States , and Uzbekistan . Only in continental Europe and Asia does high-speed rail cross international borders. High-speed trains mostly operate on standard gauge tracks of continuously welded rail on grade-separated rights of way with large radii . However, certain regions with wider legacy railways , including Russia and Uzbekistan, have sought to develop
3536-563: The Water Orton rail corridor, the Birmingham to Derby line through Castle Bromwich , and through a tunnel past Bromford . A key feature of the HS2 proposals is that the new high-speed track will be connected to the existing West Coast Main Line track at Handsacre, north of Birmingham, taking trains north on the existing track. This is the only connection between the new and existing track. This connection allows HS2 services to serve
3640-474: The World Bank , whilst supporting the project, considered the design of the equipment as unproven for that speed, and set the maximum speed to 210 km/h (130 mph). After initial feasibility tests, the plan was fast-tracked and construction of the first section of the line started on 20 April 1959. In 1963, on the new track, test runs hit a top speed of 256 km/h (159 mph). Five years after
3744-551: The taxi rank at Euston was moved to a temporary site at the front of the station so that demolition of the One Euston Square and Grant Thornton House tower blocks could commence. The demolition period was scheduled to last ten months. In June 2020, workers finished the demolition of the western ramp and canopy of the station. This part of the station had housed the parcels depot, which fell into disuse after parcel traffic shifted to being serviced by road. In March 2023,
3848-573: The 21st century has led to China taking a leading role in high-speed rail. As of 2023 , China's HSR network accounted for over two-thirds of the world's total. In addition to these, many other countries have developed high-speed rail infrastructure to connect major cities, including: Austria , Belgium , Denmark , Finland , Greece , Indonesia , Morocco , the Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Portugal , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Serbia , South Korea , Sweden , Switzerland , Taiwan , Turkey ,
3952-474: The Conservative Party conference that Phase 2 would be abandoned. The cancellation left a new high-speed track from London to Handsacre , northeast of Birmingham, with a branch to central Birmingham. The construction of Euston station would depend on private sector funding: if funding were to be secured for the station access tunnel, construction would be the responsibility of HS2 Ltd. Euston station
4056-642: The French National Railway started to receive their new powerful CC 7100 electric locomotives, and began to study and evaluate running at higher speeds. In 1954, the CC 7121 hauling a full train achieved a record 243 km/h (151 mph) during a test on standard track. The next year, two specially tuned electric locomotives, the CC 7107 and the prototype BB 9004, broke previous speed records, reaching respectively 320 km/h (200 mph) and 331 km/h (206 mph), again on standard track. For
4160-516: The French National Railways twelve months to raise speeds to 200 km/h (120 mph). The classic line Paris– Toulouse was chosen, and fitted, to support 200 km/h (120 mph) rather than 140 km/h (87 mph). Some improvements were set, notably the signals system, development of on board "in-cab" signalling system, and curve revision. The next year, in May 1967, a regular service at 200 km/h (120 mph)
4264-406: The Government was reportedly prepared to pay the upfront tunnelling cost of around £1bn to avoid further costly delays to the project. It would then recoup costs from the wider development of the Euston station site. The Northolt tunnels are being constructed with four TBMs; two tunnelling West to East and two tunnelling East to West, with the plan to meet in the middle. TBM Sushila and Caroline ,
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4368-737: The HS2 eastern leg. The London to Sheffield service will remain on the Midland Main Line, equalling the proposed original HS2 journey times. The integrated Rail Plan proposed a study to determine the best method for HS2 trains to reach Leeds. In June 2022, the Golborne spur was removed from the Crewe-to-Manchester Parliamentary Bill. Without this link, trains to Scotland would join the existing West Coast Main Line further south at Crewe, instead of south of Wigan . The Department of Transport stated that
4472-486: The Midland Main Line to serve the existing stations at Nottingham, Derby, Chesterfield, and Sheffield. HS2 trains would serve the centres of Nottingham and Derby, unlike in the previous proposal. Upgrades to the East Coast Main Line were proposed to offer time improvements on the London to Leeds and Newcastle routes. Services from Birmingham to Leeds and Newcastle were planned to use the remaining section of
4576-610: The National Exhibition Centre. North of the station west of Coleshill there will be a complex triangular branch junction, with six tracks at one section, will link the HS2 Birmingham city centre spur with the main spine. The spine continues north from the branch to the northerly limit of the high speed track which is a connection onto the WCML at Handsacre. The Birmingham city centre spur will be routed along
4680-606: The US, 160 km/h (99 mph) in Germany and 125 mph (201 km/h) in Britain. Above those speeds positive train control or the European Train Control System becomes necessary or legally mandatory. National domestic standards may vary from the international ones. Railways were the first form of rapid land transportation and had an effective monopoly on long-distance passenger traffic until
4784-603: The United Kingdom . It was introduced as a Hybrid Bill by Grant Shapps ( Secretary of State for Transport ). The bill's original aim was to authorise rail works for HS2 Phase 2 between Crewe and Manchester . It was paused under the Sunak ministry , pending the review into Phase 2 following the Government's cancellation of Phase 2 in 2023. The bill was re-introduced in the 2024-25 session by Louise Haigh (Secretary of State for Transport), on 25 July 2024, with
4888-514: The WCML outside the village of Handsacre north of Lichfield in Staffordshire . There will be a branch to a new station at Birmingham Curzon Street . There will also be new stations at Old Oak Common , in northwest London, and Birmingham Interchange , near Solihull . The section between Old Oak Common and the West Midlands is scheduled to open around 2030, with the link to Euston following between 2031 and 2035. The high speed track, including
4992-714: The West Coast Main Line. The route to the north begins at Euston station in London, entering a twin-bore tunnel near the Mornington Street Bridge at the station's throat. After continuing through to the Old Oak Common station, trains proceed through a second, 8-mile (13 km) tunnel, emerging at its northwestern portal. The line crosses the Colne Valley Regional Park on the Colne Valley Viaduct and then enters
5096-549: The West Midlands , held talks to "revive the high speed rail project with private investment" after meeting private investors, Mark Harper ( Secretary of State for Transport ), and Huw Merriman ( Minister of State for Rail and HS2 ). Harper said that he was considering the plans with an "open mind". Burnham told the Transport Select Committee of the House of Commons that the gist of the plans were to revive
5200-452: The additional capacity provided will accommodate passenger numbers rising to pre- COVID-19 levels while driving a further modal shift to rail. Opponents believe that the project is neither environmentally nor financially sustainable. In 2003, modern high-speed rail arrived in the United Kingdom with the opening of the first part of High Speed 1 (HS1), then known as the 67-mile-long (108 km) Channel Tunnel Rail Link between London and
5304-453: The adjacent Euston Square tube station , which serves the Circle , Hammersmith & City , and Metropolitan lines. The government announced that this aspect of the project would only commence if the private sector were to agree funding. Old Oak Common station, between Paddington and Acton Main Line station, is under construction and scheduled to be completed before Euston. It will be
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#17327719859445408-579: The beginning of the construction work, in October 1964, just in time for the Olympic Games , the first modern high-speed rail, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen , was opened between the two cities; a 510 km (320 mi) line between Tokyo and Ōsaka. As a result of its speeds, the Shinkansen earned international publicity and praise, and it was dubbed the "bullet train." The first Shinkansen trains,
5512-588: The branch to Birmingham, is 225 kilometres (140 mi) long. It is flanked by the WCML and the Chiltern Line . Upon opening, HS2 and West Coast Main Line compatible trains will operate from London, reaching Birmingham in 49 minutes and Birmingham Interchange in 38 minutes. Trains will journey to other destinations on a mix of HS2 and conventional track. Journeys to Liverpool will take 1 hour 50 minutes, to Glasgow 4 hours, and to Manchester 1 hour 40 minutes. Trains will progress on HS2 track to Handsacre, then use
5616-443: The cancelation of this express train in 1939 has traveled between the two cities in a faster time as of 2018 . In August 2019, the travel time between Dresden-Neustadt and Berlin-Südkreuz was 102 minutes. See Berlin–Dresden railway . Further development allowed the usage of these "Fliegenden Züge" (flying trains) on a rail network across Germany. The "Diesel-Schnelltriebwagen-Netz" (diesel high-speed-vehicle network) had been in
5720-525: The cities of Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow on a mix of new high-speed track and the existing West Coast Main Line. Purpose-built trains will be capable of operating on new and existing tracks. High Speed 2 is to share a southern terminus with the West Coast Main Line at London Euston. Euston is to be remodelled to integrate the new HS2 platforms and concourse with the current conventional rail station. There will be an improved connection to
5824-403: The construction of Phase 1 is worth roughly £6.6 billion, with preparation including over 8,000 boreholes for ground investigation. In October 2018, demolition began on the former carriage sheds at Euston station . This will allow the start of construction at the throat of the station at Mornington Street Bridge, and twin-bore 8-mile (13 km) tunnels to West Ruislip . In January 2019,
5928-562: The construction of high-speed rail is more costly than conventional rail and therefore does not always present an economical advantage over conventional speed rail. Multiple definitions for high-speed rail are in use worldwide. The European Union Directive 96/48/EC, Annex 1 (see also Trans-European high-speed rail network ) defines high-speed rail in terms of: The International Union of Railways (UIC) identifies three categories of high-speed rail: A third definition of high-speed and very high-speed rail requires simultaneous fulfilment of
6032-518: The country, under the title Network North . The locations of these projects would range from southern Scotland to Plymouth . Money would be distributed in the North, Midlands and South of England according to where the reduction of costs (not benefits) will lie. Around 30 per cent of the cost savings would be spent on railway projects. After it was found that the list of projects included schemes that had already been built or were swiftly deleted, Sunak said
6136-464: The curve radius should be quadrupled; the same was true for the acceleration and braking distances. In 1891 engineer Károly Zipernowsky proposed a high-speed line from Vienna to Budapest for electric railcars at 250 km/h (160 mph). In 1893 Wellington Adams proposed an air-line from Chicago to St. Louis of 252 miles (406 km), at a speed of only 160 km/h (99 mph). Alexander C. Miller had greater ambitions. In 1906, he launched
6240-603: The deputy director Marcel Tessier at the DETE ( SNCF Electric traction study department). JNR engineers returned to Japan with a number of ideas and technologies they would use on their future trains, including alternating current for rail traction, and international standard gauge. In 1957, the engineers at the private Odakyu Electric Railway in Greater Tokyo Area launched the Odakyu 3000 series SE EMU. This EMU set
6344-508: The development of the motor car and airliners in the early-mid 20th century. Speed had always been an important factor for railroads and they constantly tried to achieve higher speeds and decrease journey times. Rail transportation in the late 19th century was not much slower than non-high-speed trains today, and many railroads regularly operated relatively fast express trains which averaged speeds of around 100 km/h (62 mph). High-speed rail development began in Germany in 1899 when
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#17327719859446448-423: The early 20th century were very high-speed for their time (also Europe had and still does have some interurbans). Several high-speed rail technologies have their origin in the interurban field. In 1903 – 30 years before the conventional railways started to streamline their trains – the officials of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition organised the Electric Railway Test Commission to conduct a series of tests to develop
6552-453: The existing Birmingham International railway station . The AirRail Link people-mover already operates between Birmingham International station and the airport. In addition, there is a proposal to extend the West Midlands Metro to serve the station. In 2010, Birmingham Airport's chief executive, Paul Kehoe, stated that HS2 is a key element in increasing the number of flights using the airport, with added patronage by inhabitants of London and
6656-839: The first of two TBMs, completed tunnelling and broke through in late February 2024, and in March 2024, the second TBM, Cecilia, completed tunnelling. In December 2021, TBM Dorothy was launched, tunnelling under Long Itchington Wood. It completed the first bore in July 2022, and was returned to its initial position to complete the second, parallel bore. Dorothy started the second bore in November 2022, and finished it in March 2023. The Bromford tunnels from Water Orton in North Warwickshire to Birmingham are being bored by TBMs Mary Ann and Elizabeth. Mary Ann started tunnelling in June 2023 and will finish in 2024, while Elizabeth started in March 2024 and will finish in Autumn 2025. The main stages of construction officially began on 4 September 2020, following previous delays. The civil engineering aspect of
6760-438: The first time, 300 km/h (185 mph) was surpassed, allowing the idea of higher-speed services to be developed and further engineering studies commenced. Especially, during the 1955 records, a dangerous hunting oscillation , the swaying of the bogies which leads to dynamic instability and potential derailment was discovered. This problem was solved by yaw dampers which enabled safe running at high speeds today. Research
6864-427: The first two of the four TBMs to be used, were launched from the West Ruislip portal in October 2022. The third launched in February 2024 and the fourth followed in April 2024, with the all the tunnels planned to be finished in 2025. The 10-mile (16 km) Chiltern tunnels was scheduled to take three years to dig, using two 2,000-tonne (2,000-long-ton; 2,200-short-ton) tunnel boring machines (TBM). In July 2020, work
6968-502: The following two conditions: The UIC prefers to use "definitions" (plural) because they consider that there is no single standard definition of high-speed rail, nor even standard usage of the terms ("high speed", or "very high speed"). They make use of the European EC Directive 96/48, stating that high speed is a combination of all the elements which constitute the system: infrastructure, rolling stock and operating conditions. The International Union of Railways states that high-speed rail
7072-431: The government postponed works on Euston station, saying that this was necessary to "manage inflationary pressures and work on an affordable design for the station". Delivery of services between Birmingham and Old Oak Common would instead be prioritised, with the Elizabeth line providing passenger transfer between Old Oak Common and central London until at least 2035, the earliest time at which Euston would be available under
7176-435: The government was considering the recommendations of the Union Connectivity Review, which gave alternatives such as a more northerly HS2 connection to the West Coast Main Line than Golborne and upgrades to the West Coast Main Line from Crewe to Preston . The Department of Transport will publish its response subject to the funding allocated in the integrated Rail Plan. In October 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced at
7280-414: The impacts of geometric defects are intensified, track adhesion is decreased, aerodynamic resistance is greatly increased, pressure fluctuations within tunnels cause passenger discomfort, and it becomes difficult for drivers to identify trackside signalling. Standard signaling equipment is often limited to speeds below 200 km/h (124 mph), with the traditional limits of 127 km/h (79 mph) in
7384-404: The initial ones despite greater speeds). After decades of research and successful testing on a 43 km (27 mi) test track, in 2014 JR Central began constructing a Maglev Shinkansen line, which is known as the Chūō Shinkansen . These Maglev trains still have the traditional underlying tracks and the cars have wheels. This serves a practical purpose at stations and a safety purpose out on
7488-429: The introduction of HS2 will free up space on existing railway lines by removing a number of express services, thus allowing additional local train services to accommodate increased passenger numbers. Network Rail considers that constructing a new high-speed railway will be more cost-effective and less disruptive than upgrading the existing conventional rail network. The DfT has forecast that improved connectivity will have
7592-542: The late 1940s and it consistently reached 161 km/h (100 mph) in its service life. These were the last "high-speed" trains to use steam power. In 1936, the Twin Cities Zephyr entered service, from Chicago to Minneapolis, with an average speed of 101 km/h (63 mph). Many of these streamliners posted travel times comparable to or even better than their modern Amtrak successors, which are limited to 127 km/h (79 mph) top speed on most of
7696-432: The lines in the event of a power failure. However, in normal operation, the wheels are raised up into the car as the train reaches certain speeds where the magnetic levitation effect takes over. It will link Tokyo and Osaka by 2037, with the section from Tokyo to Nagoya expected to be operational by 2027. Maximum speed is anticipated at 505 km/h (314 mph). The first generation train can be ridden by tourists visiting
7800-413: The list was intended to provide illustrative examples. In January 2024, opposition leader Keir Starmer said it would not be possible for any future Labour government to reinstate Phase 2, since contracts would have been cancelled. This was confirmed in April 2024 by Louise Haigh , the shadow transport minister. In January 2024, Andy Burnham , Mayor of Greater Manchester , and Andy Street , Mayor of
7904-458: The mayors concluded in March 2024 that the best option would be a new line between Handsacre and Manchester Airport , to meet Northern Powerhouse Rail. The cost could be covered by a combination of government funding and private finance. HS2 parallels the West Coast Main Line (WCML), merging with the WCML at Handsacre. The line will be between Euston railway station in London and a junction with
8008-505: The network. The German high-speed service was followed in Italy in 1938 with an electric-multiple-unit ETR 200 , designed for 200 km/h (120 mph), between Bologna and Naples. It too reached 160 km/h (99 mph) in commercial service, and achieved a world mean speed record of 203 km/h (126 mph) between Florence and Milan in 1938. In Great Britain in the same year, the streamlined steam locomotive Mallard achieved
8112-574: The new plans. The Colne Valley Viaduct is a 2.1-mile (3.4 km)-long bridge to carry the line over the Colne Valley Regional Park in Hillingdon , West London. The viaduct is situated between the Northolt and Chiltern tunnels. The bridge-building machine was launched in May 2022, signalling the start of construction. The final deck segment was put into place in September 2024. The viaduct
8216-469: The official world speed record for steam locomotives at 202.58 km/h (125.88 mph). The external combustion engines and boilers on steam locomotives were large, heavy and time and labor-intensive to maintain, and the days of steam for high speed were numbered. In 1945, a Spanish engineer, Alejandro Goicoechea , developed a streamlined, articulated train that was able to run on existing tracks at higher speeds than contemporary passenger trains. This
8320-543: The part of Phase 2 between Handsacre and High Legh in Cheshire; trains would then proceed on Northern Powerhouse Rail to Manchester Piccadilly . Burnham said the cost could be "considerably less" than earlier plans if the maximum speed of trains was reduced. The Phase 2b Bill remains in the House of Commons but the Committee paused its work after the October 2023 announcement. A provisional report commissioned by
8424-608: The planning since 1934 but it never reached its envisaged size. All high-speed service stopped in August 1939 shortly before the outbreak of World War II . On 26 May 1934, one year after Fliegender Hamburger introduction, the Burlington Railroad set an average speed record on long distance with their new streamlined train, the Zephyr , at 124 km/h (77 mph) with peaks at 185 km/h (115 mph). The Zephyr
8528-560: The power to construct Phase 2 as far as Crewe and to make decisions on the remainder of the Phase 2b route, was introduced in July 2017. Phase 2a received royal assent in February 2021. The High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill for Phase 2b was paused under the Sunak ministry . One of the stated aims of the project is to increase the capacity of the railway network. It is envisaged that
8632-611: The previous Labour government, with alterations designed to minimise the visual, noise, and other environmental impacts of the line. In January 2012, the Secretary of State for Transport announced that HS2 would go ahead in two phases and the legislative process would be achieved through two hybrid bills . The High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act 2017 , authorising the construction of Phase 1, passed both Houses of Parliament and received Royal Assent in February 2017. A Phase 2a High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Bill , seeking
8736-608: The programme to be". This report was clarified to mean following the cancellation of Phase 2. On 18 November 2021, the government's delayed Integrated Rail Plan was published. The plan significantly affected parts of the HS2 programme, including curtailing much of the eastern leg. Under the original proposal for the eastern leg, the high-speed line would have been built with a link to the East Coast Main Line south of York for trains to continue to Newcastle. A branch would take trains into Leeds. There would also have been
8840-465: The project go ahead as planned, subject to a series of further recommendations. After concluding that the project should proceed, the review recommended a further review of HS2 that would be undertaken by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and would concentrate on reducing costs and over-specification. On 15 April 2020, formal approval was given to construction companies to start work on
8944-553: The project. In July 2023 the Infrastructure Projects Authority annual report gave Phases 1 and 2A project a "red" rating , meaning "Successful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable. There are major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefits delivery, which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or resolvable. The project may need re-scoping and/or its overall viability reassessed." Measures such as reducing
9048-469: The route from London to Birmingham. The Euston tunnel will take passengers from Euston station to Old Oak Common station . The Northolt tunnel will cover the area between Old Oak Common and the Colne Valley Viaduct in West Ruislip. The Chiltern tunnel will be the longest tunnel on the route and will travel 10 miles (16 km) underneath the Chiltern Hills . The Long Itchington Wood tunnel
9152-474: The speed of trains and their frequency, and general cost-cutting predominately affecting Phase 2b, would be assessed. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee , in a January 2024 report, in relation to the revised planned route, stated that: "HS2 now offers very poor value for money to the taxpayer, and the Department [for Transport] and HS2 Ltd do not yet know what it expects the final benefits of
9256-476: The temporary London terminus of HS2 until Euston is completed. There will be connections with the Elizabeth Line , Heathrow Express to Heathrow Airport , and the Great Western Main Line to Reading , South West England , and South Wales . Old Oak Common railway station will also be connected, via out of station interchanges , with London Overground stations at Old Oak Common Lane on
9360-535: The test track. China is developing two separate high-speed maglev systems. In Europe, high-speed rail began during the International Transport Fair in Munich in June 1965, when Dr Öpfering, the director of Deutsche Bundesbahn (German Federal Railways), performed 347 demonstrations at 200 km/h (120 mph) between Munich and Augsburg by DB Class 103 hauled trains. The same year
9464-505: The tunnels for agriculture. After passing west of Aylesbury , the route will pass through the corridor of the former Great Central Main Line , joining the alignment north of Quainton Road to travel through rural Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire up to Mixbury , south of Brackley , from where it will cross the A43 and open countryside through South Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, passing immediately south of Southam . After progressing through
9568-540: The wider rail gauge, and thus standard gauge was adopted for high-speed service. With the sole exceptions of Russia, Finland, and Uzbekistan all high-speed rail lines in the world are still standard gauge, even in countries where the preferred gauge for legacy lines is different. The new service, named Shinkansen (meaning new main line ) would provide a new alignment, 25% wider standard gauge utilising continuously welded rails between Tokyo and Osaka with new rolling stock, designed for 250 km/h (160 mph). However,
9672-629: The world's population, without a single train passenger fatality. (Suicides, passengers falling off the platforms, and industrial accidents have resulted in fatalities.) Since their introduction, Japan's Shinkansen systems have been undergoing constant improvement, not only increasing line speeds. Over a dozen train models have been produced, addressing diverse issues such as tunnel boom noise, vibration, aerodynamic drag , lines with lower patronage ("Mini shinkansen"), earthquake and typhoon safety, braking distance , problems due to snow, and energy consumption (newer trains are twice as energy-efficient as
9776-470: Was achieved by providing the locomotive and cars with a unique axle system that used one axle set per car end, connected by a Y-bar coupler. Amongst other advantages, the centre of mass was only half as high as usual. This system became famous under the name of Talgo ( Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol ), and for half a century was the main Spanish provider of high-speed trains. In the early 1950s,
9880-530: Was also made about "current harnessing" at high-speed by the pantographs, which was solved 20 years later by the Zébulon TGV 's prototype. With some 45 million people living in the densely populated Tokyo– Osaka corridor, congestion on road and rail became a serious problem after World War II , and the Japanese government began thinking about ways to transport people in and between cities. Because Japan
9984-433: Was completed on a 17-metre (56 ft)-high headwall at the southern portal of the twin-bore tunnel. The tunnels are lined with concrete that is cast in sections at a purpose-built facility at the southern portal; the first sections were cast in March 2021. Tunnelling began in May 2021, with TBM Florence , moving at a speed of up to 15 m (49 ft) per day. The second TBM, Cecilia , was launched in July 2021. Florence,
10088-403: Was extended a further 161 km (100 mi), and further construction has resulted in the network expanding to 2,951 km (1,834 mi) of high speed lines as of 2024, with a further 211 km (131 mi) of extensions currently under construction and due to open in 2031. The cumulative patronage on the entire system since 1964 is over 10 billion, the equivalent of approximately 140% of
10192-526: Was inaugurated by the TEE Le Capitole between Paris and Toulouse , with specially adapted SNCF Class BB 9200 locomotives hauling classic UIC cars, and a full red livery. It averaged 119 km/h (74 mph) over the 713 km (443 mi). High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill The High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill was a proposed act of the Parliament of
10296-408: Was initially proposed to have 11 platforms to accommodate HS2 trains. There is a reduction to six platforms, as a proposal from October 2023 will cap the throughput to 9–11 trains per hour, rather than the 18 of which the HS2 track would otherwise be capable. Sunak said the £36 billion saved by not building the northern leg of HS2 would instead be spent on roads, buses, and railways in every region of
10400-543: Was made of stainless steel and, like the Fliegender Hamburger, was diesel powered, articulated with Jacobs bogies , and could reach 160 km/h (99 mph) as commercial speed. The new service was inaugurated 11 November 1934, traveling between Kansas City and Lincoln , but at a lower speed than the record, on average speed 74 km/h (46 mph). In 1935, the Milwaukee Road introduced
10504-407: Was not only a part of the Shinkansen revolution: the Shinkansen offered high-speed rail travel to the masses. The first Bullet trains had 12 cars and later versions had up to 16, and double-deck trains further increased the capacity. After three years, more than 100 million passengers had used the trains, and the milestone of the first one billion passengers was reached in 1976. In 1972, the line
10608-525: Was resource limited and did not want to import petroleum for security reasons, energy-efficient high-speed rail was an attractive potential solution. Japanese National Railways (JNR) engineers began to study the development of a high-speed regular mass transit service. In 1955, they were present at the Lille 's Electrotechnology Congress in France, and during a 6-month visit, the head engineer of JNR accompanied
10712-402: Was still more than 30 years away. After the breakthrough of electric railroads, it was clearly the infrastructure – especially the cost of it – which hampered the introduction of high-speed rail. Several disasters happened – derailments, head-on collisions on single-track lines, collisions with road traffic at grade crossings, etc. The physical laws were well-known, i.e. if the speed was doubled,
10816-477: Was too heavy for much of the tracks, so Cincinnati Car Company , J. G. Brill and others pioneered lightweight constructions, use of aluminium alloys, and low-level bogies which could operate smoothly at extremely high speeds on rough interurban tracks. Westinghouse and General Electric designed motors compact enough to be mounted on the bogies. From 1930 on, the Red Devils from Cincinnati Car Company and
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