High-speed Rail in The United Kingdom - Route Choices

Route Choices

The promoters of both wheel-on-rail and maglev systems in Britain, and the technology-agnostic studies that have been commissioned by government departments and third parties, have concentrated on the North-South axis of Britain for the first route. There is some disagreement on whether a single central route, both west and east coast routes, or a single S-shaped route taking in the major population centres (as proposed by maglev promoters) should be constructed first.

All studies have argued that a hub at Heathrow Airport would be desirable as both an interchange for air services and local rail services to the west and south of London, but several studies also show it would not be financially viable due to extra tunnelling costs. The Atkins study has identified routes to the West Midlands, Liverpool and Manchester as being capacity constrained by 2015 and this is almost certainly where the first HSL will be required. Atkins also recommended having two routes, one each side of the Pennines. The study recommends against a trunk and branch structure.

Various route options between London and Birmingham have also been suggested, some incorporating an intermediate stop in the vicinity of either Oxford (a city of international prominence), or Northampton (being roughly half-way), or at another point which will allow convenient interchange with the national rail network (e.g. Bicester, for both the Chiltern Main Line and East West Rail Link).

The Maglev option, promoted by UK Ultraspeed, takes a route from London to Manchester, with a branch to Liverpool, then directly across the Pennines to Leeds, with a branch to Sheffield, before heading north east to Teesside and Tyneside then north to Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Atkins study includes a trans-Pennine option, but puts more emphasis on a line through the East Midlands to Sheffield, Leeds and then north on a similar trajectory to that of the maglev.