Mayors to meet consultants following talks with transport secretary on HS2 alternative

Mayors Andy Street and Andy Burnham will meet firms including Mace and Arcadis this week after the pair held talks with transport secretary Mark Harper last week about improving rail links between the West Midlands and Manchester.

Also present at last Wednesday’s meeting was former Olympic Delivery Authority boss and non-executive chair of HS2, Sir David Higgins, who is chairing the regional mayors’ group on the issue, and representatives from consultants Arup and Arcadis. Rail minister Huw Merriman MP was also in attendance.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester mayor Burnham said the talks were “constructive” and added: “We will be reconvening as a wider group in Birmingham [this] week to flesh out our plans. After this we expect to be in a position to talk more about our work, and the options we are exploring to enhance connectivity between our two great regions.” The wider group also includes Mace and EY.

He added the plans were not an attempt to resurrect the leg of HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester which was cancelled by prime minister Rishi Sunak last autumn.

He said: “It is about finding a different way of solving what is a national priority of better rail connectivity between our city regions.

“Ultimately there are capacity challenges on the West Coast Main Line between Birmingham and Manchester, and so we have decided to seek the help of the best private sector brains to look at how we might creatively resolve that without a significant bill on the public purse.”

Burnham and Street were prominent critics of Sunak’s decision, with Street at one point reportedly set to quit the Conservative party in protest.

Street was also responsible for putting together a last-ditch bid to save the line which featured several private sector companies including Siemens and Arup. The group proposed alternative solutions to build the route between Crewe and Manchester including bringing in private finance and commercialising high-speed rail stations.

Harper has promised to keep in contact with both mayors as they spell out further their plans and a Department for Transport spokesperson added: “The transport secretary made clear that we’ve cancelled HS2 Phase 2 and we’re already reinvesting the £36bn of savings to fund local transport projects that will benefit more people, in more places, more quickly.”

Last month, the government lifted safeguarding directions along the former HS2 route between the West Midlands and Crewe, meaning HS2 Limited will no longer be able to object to proposed development on the land where the directions previously applied.