HS2 East TEchnical Support

The IRP proposed that the Eastern Leg of HS2 should only reach as far as East Midlands Parkway. It also made statements about the journey times and capacity that would be achievable between London, Birmingham and Derbyshire, Yorkshire and the North East by running on upgraded conventional railway north of the end of the high speed line. However, there are a number of challenges with this, including: • Whether the journey times between London and Sheffield are achievable • How Chesterfield will be served • The impact of IRP on journeys between Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, York and Newcastle • How the Northern Powerhouse Rail ambitions for increased frequencies and transformative journey • times between Sheffield and Leeds could be achieved (as these are not mentioned in the IRP) • The impact of HS2 services on existing services on the Midland Main Line Therefore an optimal solution needs to be identified that is not reliant on HS2 being built as originally conceived as far north as Leeds.