A new railway will still be built between London and Birmingham, but trains will then be transferred to the existing West Coast Main Line. Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images
HS2 trains between Birmingham and Manchester will be slower and carry fewer passengers than current trains, MPs have been told.
Proposals for Britain's new high-speed rail would cost several billion pounds were cut by Rishi Sunak in October due to soaring costs.
A new railway will still be built between London and Birmingham, but trains will then be transferred to the existing West Coast Main Line to Manchester and further.
On Wednesday Sir John Thompson, executive chairman of HS2, told MPs that the revised plans would see a “reduction in the number of London to Manchester seats” compared to current services.
The HS2 boss also admitted that the projected cost of delivering the project between London and Birmingham's cost has risen to more than £66 billion.
Planned extensions to Crewe stations and a new station at Manchester Piccadilly on the northern section have been cancelled, meaning northbound HS2 trains for Birmingham, should be shorter than planned.
Sir John told MPs: “We assumed we wouldn't run a 400-metre train to Manchester Piccadilly – we'll have to configure a train 250 meters long, which is approximately the length of Pendolino. It will have fewer seats than the current Pendolino.”
However, it is clear that the trains will be shorter than the current Pendolino – by 200 meters, which will make them half the size originally planned.
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Sir John added that “in the current scenario, unless you extend [Manchester] Piccadilly station or do something at Crewe as well, my understanding is that the number of seats from London to Manchester will be reduced.”
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He also said HS2 trains from Birmingham to Manchester would be “the same speed” as current trains on straight sections, but would need to be slower on curves as the new trains would not be able to tilt.
< p>Asked by MPs about the speed of the new trains, he said: “The HS2 train will travel the same as the Pendolino, in a straight line at 125mph, but on curves it will go slower at 185mph. So the HS2 train from Birmingham to Manchester, which of course will be almost entirely a West Coast mainline, will be slower than the Pendelino, yes.”
It is clear that the time saved by tilting the trains is about five. minutes, and that Avanti West Coast and Network Rail are carrying out engineering work that will allow tilt-free trains to travel faster on the West Coast Main Line.
Sir John Thompson also acknowledged “poor work on our part”. Photo: Parliamentary Television/PA
After it was revealed that the full cost of delivering Phase 1 of the project, the section between London and Birmingham, was up to £66 billion, Sir John said: “The cost of delivery exceeds the Government's budget and that's yet to come when you start to factor in the extreme construction inflation of recent times. three years or so.
“We now estimate that Phase 1 will cost between £49 and £56.6 billion before inflation, so that's at 2019 prices compared to the government budget of £45 billion pounds sterling.”
However, he said that in order to bring that 2019 figure up to the 2023-34 financial year price, “somewhere between £8 billion and £10 billion would need to be added to that figure.”
Sir John added that the reason the original forecast amount was exceeded was partly due to errors in the budget, adding: “The cost estimates and the budget that was set in the first place were, in my opinion, too low.”
The HS2 chief also attributed the sharp increase in costs to “changes in scope” of the project and rising inflation, but also acknowledged “poor execution on our part.”
The project is scheduled to be completed between 2030 and 2033.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “The Government is reducing the cost of HS2 and reviewing the scope of the first phase to deliver the line at the lowest reasonable price. for taxpayers.
“We have already taken decisive action by canceling phase two of HS2, reinvesting every penny of the £36 billion in savings into local transport projects that will benefit more people in more places, faster.”
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