Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 100
The Government’s fixation on journey times as a benefit of the IRP must not overshadow...
Conclusion
The Government’s fixation on journey times as a benefit of the IRP must not overshadow the issue of capacity. It seems highly unlikely that an upgraded Victorian line can replicate the capacity increases achievable by building new track.
Government Response Summary
The government has published work by Mott MacDonald into the Strategic Alternatives to High Speed 2 Phase 2b, which includes an independent assessment of outputs for different alternatives on the Eastern Leg, showing that significant seat increases were possible. However, they do not fully accept the conclusion that an upgraded Victorian line cannot replicate the capacity increases achievable by building new track.
Paragraph Reference:
100
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The Government partially accepts these recommendations. It has already published work by Mott MacDonald into the Strategic Alternatives to High Speed 2 Phase 2b, which includes an independent assessment of outputs for different alternatives on the Eastern Leg. This covered journey times, train service frequency and train capacity (seats) for key origin-destination pairs, showing that significant seat increases were possible. Network Rail and HS2 Ltd are developing the different aspects of the IRP, and they will provide objective and assured advice as to the likely seat and track capacity offered by the IRP. The future effects on both long-distance and local passenger services, and freight capacity, is a key part of this advice. Where relevant the Government would expect comparisons with previous plans for HS2 and other options for NPR to be included in relevant business cases (for example in the up-coming NPR SOBC). Particularly for schemes within the IRP at an early stage of development, and as with any large-scale rail scheme, the Government would expect detailed analysis to continue to evolve through future design. Therefore, it expects journey times to be refined as development continues, and the next stages of development consider the optimal balance between capacity, demand, speed and reliability. Network Rail and HS2 Ltd are in the process of producing more detailed proposals for each element of the IRP and we will continue to provide updates on this analysis as the projects progress. These will evolve to include likely resulting journey times accounting for network reliability (estimated via train performance modelling using the proposed infrastructure) as well as detailed timetabling requirements, and it is expected that these be reported at each stage of the business case cycle. As part of on-going engagement with communities and stakeholders, and business case publication, the Government will at each stage include the best available information for key outputs.