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Major step forward for HS2 as hybrid Bill published
The hybrid Bill gives government the powers to construct and operate a high speed railway between London and Birmingham.
HS2 will take a major step forward today (25 November 2013) with publication of the Bill for phase one of the country’s new railway between London and Birmingham.
The hybrid Bill, effectively the planning application for the scheme, will give the government the powers to construct and operate the railway. It will also give those affected by the proposed line the opportunity to petition Parliament, both for and against the proposals, and have their case heard by a committee of MPs.
The government believes that the new line – the first to be built north of London for 120 years – is vital to meet the urgent rail capacity needs on the main rail routes into London. Parts of the West Coast Main Line are full in terms of the number of trains they can carry, many of which are full to overflowing. There are similar issues facing the East Coast and Midland Mainline.
HS2 will spread prosperity throughout the country, connecting 8 out of 10 of the country’s major cities and particularly benefitting the midlands and the north. A recent study by KPMG estimated that when fully operational HS2 will generate around £15 billion of economic benefits annually.
The publication of legislation for Phase One marks a significant milestone in the project. Once Royal Assent has been achieved, it is expected that construction of the line from London to Birmingham will begin in 2016 to 2017 allowing the line to open in 2026.
Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin said:
HS2 is the most ambitious and important infrastructure project in the UK since we built the M25 30 years ago, and in 30 more it will be just as integral a part of the nation’s prosperity.The government will also publish today (25 November 2013) the environmental statement for Phase One of the scheme. The document sets out in detail the likely significant environmental effects of the scheme.
The Bill will give us the powers we need to get the railway built and start delivering the extra room on our railways that this country so desperately needs. It will also start the process of rebalancing the economy and bringing our great cities closer together.
That is why the Bill is so important – it marks the move from aspiration to delivery. Now is the time to be bold and ensure HS2 becomes a reality.
It will allow those on or near the line of route to see exactly how they will be affected and give details of the ways in which the railway has been designed to reduce as far as practicable impacts on the landscape.
These include that:
- around 23% of the line between London and the West Midlands will be in tunnels and around 32% lowered into the ground with cuttings
- landscaped earthworks and the planting of at least 2 million trees will further help to screen the railway, reduce the impacts of train noise and integrate the line into the landscape
- much of the earth removed during the construction will be used to create these earthworks, greatly reducing the amount of earth that would have to be otherwise transported, cutting lorry journeys and associated congestion, disruption and pollution
- drawing on Japanese technology, HS2 trains will be fitted with special features to help reduce noise: considerations include the use of wheel farings to cut the noise made by the wheels on rails – the biggest source of noise on any electrified railway; and eliminating the gaps between each train carriage to cut noise and boost aerodynamic efficiency
Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) John Longworth said:
We have consistently said that investing in HS2 is the best way to deliver increased capacity to our overstretched railways. And it’s not just existing capacity that’s a problem. If we want the economy to grow and businesses to prosper, we are going to need more capacity in the future. The problem is not going to go away and we are at risk of stifling future growth.Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese said:
HS2 simply must be built if we are to avoid crippling delays, stifling carriage conditions and weekend chaos that conventional upgrades will bring. Major infrastructure projects have always been controversial in the past. The M25, Crossrail, and the Channel Tunnel were not universally called for, yet look at the economic benefits they have delivered over the years. A new high-speed rail network, as part of a wider infrastructure investment strategy, will release capacity on our roads, and enable firms to move both staff and goods with ease.
Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership chairman Roger Marsh said:HS2 is a once in a century opportunity for Manchester, and it’s one we should grasp tightly. The deposit of the hybrid Bill into Parliament is a major milestone in making the new north-south high speed line a reality.
Derby City Council leader Councillor Paul Bayliss said:The laying of the hybrid Bill today (25 November 2013) is an extremely important move forward for HS2. The new north-south high speed line will give a serious boost to the Leeds City Region economy through the transformational reduction in journey times not just to London but between the cities of the Midlands and North and by greatly increasing the capacity of the railways.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:Today’s (25 November 2013) laying into Parliament of the hybrid Bill to build HS2 is a very significant step forward in the development of Britain’s new north-south high speed railway. As the country’s leading city for advanced transport engineering, we welcome the economic opportunities that HS2 should bring, particularly if the East Midlands Station is in the right location.
With rail passenger numbers along the west coast route set to rise sharply in the next few decades, HS2 is vital for delivering the extra capacity that passengers will need.The Department for Transport is also today (25 November 2013) publishing several other documents which have interdependencies with the Bill.
But HS2 isn’t just about helping passengers, it can boost growth and help rebalance the economy too. HS2 will provide new business opportunities at stops along its route, while local employment and apprenticeship clauses could help HS2 to create many thousands of high quality jobs across the country. This is an opportunity we can ill afford to miss out on.
These are:
- a command paper setting out outcomes of the Phase One design refinement consultation for 12 design refinements
- a command paper on impacts on social rented housing
- a command paper on properties above tunnels
International Railway Journal
CONSTRUCTION of a two-line light rail network in the French city of Avignon moved a step closer on November 23, when the €250m project was granted public utility status.
THE first of 468 new-generation Azur metro cars being built by a consortium of Bombardier and Alstom for Montreal public transport company STM was formally presented to representatives of the government of Quebec...
AUSTRALIA's former deputy prime minister Mr John Anderson has officially launched the Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation (ACRI) on the eve of the World Congress on Railway Research (WCRR) which opens today in Sydney..
The municipality of São José dos Campos, northeast of São Paulo, announced on November 24 that it is cancelling the construction of its proposed 15km light rail line in favour of a bus rapid transit..
www.progressiverailroading.com US News
Federal Railroad Administration
Federal Railroad Administration Celebrates Opening of New Railroad Bridge: Recovery Act Rail Project Completed Early and Under Budget.
OSAGE CITY, Mo. – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo today participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony for a new railroad bridge that will eliminate the last chokepoint along the line between Jefferson City and St. Louis. The $28 million project received $22.6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Program and was the largest ARRA project in the state of Missouri. Administrator Szabo joined Missouri Department of Transportation Director Dave Nichols, officials from Amtrak and Union Pacific Railroad and other dignitaries at the event.
“Railroads play a key role in our ability to move both people and goods, a need that will only increase in the coming decades,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “The Obama Administration is committed to working with transportation leaders like Governor Nixon and Senator McCaskill, to make sure the nation’s rail system is efficient, reliable and supportive of economic growth.”
The new Union Pacific Railroad bridge spanning the Osage River will reduce delays for more than 600 passengers traveling on Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner and the 60 freight trains that currently operate over the 283-mile Kansas City to St. Louis Corridor each day. On the old bridge, passenger and freight trains would often have to wait until a train coming from the opposite direction cleared.
With the addition of the new 1,200-foot structure, located just east of Jefferson City in Osage County, the rail corridor between St. Louis and Jefferson City now consists entirely of two mainline tracks that will allow Amtrak passenger trains and freight trains to pass through the area unimpeded. As a result, the region’s four Missouri River Runner trains will see faster, more reliable service.
“This new railroad bridge is yet another strategic investment in our rail infrastructure that will allow for higher performing passenger rail – while also laying a foundation to invest in faster, more frequent, and even more reliable service,” said Administrator Szabo. “It also advances the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative – a vision Missouri shares with eight other states to connect the Midwest’s 40 largest cities with high-performance passenger rail.”
The Federal Railroad Administration, along with its 32 state partners and the District of Columbia, is laying the foundation for a higher performance rail network. Sixty-five projects worth $4.1 billion in High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program funding are currently completed, under construction, or will soon start construction in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Bringing safe, reliable, convenient, and affordable intercity passenger rail to the U.S. will create jobs, increase economic development opportunities, promote energy efficiency and relieve congestion.
Transportation Research Board of The National Acadamies.
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2014 TRB 93rd Annual Meeting: Extreme Weather Events: Prepare, Respond, and Recover
To assist transportation agencies and their partners, the TRB 93rd Annual Meeting will include more than 16 sessions and workshops that examine the increased frequency and severity of weather events and explore how transportation agencies can prepare for, respond to, and recover from extreme weather events. Sessions and workshops will consider the issue from the perspective of planning, operations, maintenance, adaptation, resiliency, safety, critical infrastructure, emergency evacuations, modeling, freight, transit, ports and inland waterways, and business continuity.
More details can be found by selecting the “Hot Topic: Extreme Weather Events” subject area in the TRB Annual Meeting Interactive Program and/or Annual Meeting Mobile App (once released). You are encouraged to register and make your hotel reservation online now. Registration is required for all Annual Meeting attendees, including those who plan to attend any workshop, visit the Exhibits, or take advantage of onsite programming and services. Annual Meeting attendee registration is required to obtain a hotel reservation. More than 30 sessions and workshops will focus on the spotlight theme for the TRB 93rd Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2014, in Washington, D.C.--Celebrating Our Legacy, Anticipating Our Future. This theme reflects the last year of the Annual Meeting at the Connecticut Avenue hotels, where it has been for nearly 60 years, and the move to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in 2015. These will be supplemented by 15 to 25 sessions and workshops on each of the following critical transportation issues: performance measurement, automated driving and connected vehicles, extreme weather events, and big data. The TRB 93rd Annual Meeting will cover all transportation modes, with 4,500 presentations in nearly 800 sessions and workshops addressing topics of interest to all attendees—policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions. The Annual Meeting, which draws attendees from throughout the United States and from some 70 countries, is the single largest gathering of transportation practitioners and researchers in the world. www.railway-technology.com Updates Nomad Digital and EMEF form joint venture to address telemanagement on rail Wireless solutions provider Nomad Digital and Portugese rail maintenance firm Empresa de Manutenção de Equipamento Ferroviário (EMEF) have formed a joint venture (JV). Called Nomad Tech, it aims to meet the growing demand for tele-management solutions in the rail sector. BART to purchase additional 365 cars for Fleet of the Future The board of San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has given clearance to purchase an additional 365 cars, intended to completely replace the agency's existing fleet of 669 rail cars with a total of 775 new units. British Columbia overhauls SkyTrain vehicle fleet British Columbia transportation authority TransLink has put the first revamped Mark I SkyTrain train into service, as part of a C$37.9m overhaul programme to upgrade its ageing fleet of 114 vehicles. Eversholt Rail contracts Bombardier for Class 365 train fleet upgrade Bombardier Transportation has been contracted by Eversholt Rail to upgrade and deliver maintenance services for its Class 365 train fleet, which are currently leased to First Capital Connect (FCC), over the next two years. Shedmaster Railway News News in Brief - Railway Gazette BBC News - The railway workers trained to stop suicides Moscow - Kyiv Talgo services to start next year - Railway Gazette Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation launched - Railway Gazette World Heritage & Railway News GWR - Gloucestershire's mainline heritage railway - Last chance to see Foremarke Hall in action before its ten-year overhaul Winter Civil Engineering Diary – Part 3 | North Yorkshire Moors Railway :: A steam train adventure through the stunning Yorkshire Moors The Future of Rail Conference - Marketforce |
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