Alternative northern rail plan tabled to link HS2 and NPR via underground stations
1/2 Proposed Leeds Station (Credit WW+P/Expedition)
2/2 Proposed Leeds Station from above (Credit WW+P/Expedition)
An alternative Northern rail proposal has been tabled which would link High Speed 2 (HS2) and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) and include underground stations in major cities such as Leeds and Manchester.
The Trans-Britain Railway plan – put forward by Expedition Engineering and architects Weston Williamson & Partners (WW&P) – emphasises the opportunity to combine the northern section of HS2 (phase 2) and NPR to deliver “real value”.
The scheme proposes a single integrated railway north of Crewe that achieves the objectives of both projects in a more efficient and affordable manner .
Big names call on government to adopt RetroFirst reforms
A host of big names in architecture and the built environment have called on the government to adopt the recommendations of the AJ RetroFirst campaign
A letter to the Times newspaper, published on Saturday, said the government ‘cannot ignore our wasteful addiction to demolition and rebuilding’, particularly amid preparations for the UK to host the COP26 climate summit later this year.
The letter was signed by 35 individuals including Doreen Lawrence, Norman Foster, David Chipperfield, Thomas Heatherwick, Amin Taha, Sadie Morgan and former environment secretary John Gummer.
The letter said adopting the three recommendations of the RetroFirst campaign – cutting VAT on refurbishment to 5 per cent or less; amending planning guidance and the Building Regs to promote reuse of existing buildings; and insisting all publicly funded projects look to retrofit solutions first – ‘would not only underline the UK’s leadership
High Speed 2 (HS2) stations in Manchester and Leeds face a major design rethink following publication of the National Infrastructure Commission’s (NIC’s)
Current plans are for terminus stations in both cities, but the report says that through stations offer better connectivity, higher capacity and better operational efficiency in city centres.
Expedition Engineering director Alistair Lenczner said that building terminus stations in both cities would repeat problems caused by 19th century railway planning.
Manchester and Leeds originally had terminus stations that were either replaced by new through stations or modified to allow some through running. Other cities whose terminus stations were eventually replaced by through stations include York, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh and Newcastle.
Infrastructure projects like the Lower Thames Crossing should be “multi-purpose” and span more than one sector, according to Expedition Engineering director Alistair Lenczner.
According to Lenczner, the Lower Thames Crossing should be redesigned to include a road and railway.
He added that this would help improve the project s benefits and reduce its carbon impact.
“No one thinks about integrated projects and this is a perfect example where there is a clear opportunity and a clear benefit,” he said. “We need to think of a complete picture of national infrastructure.”
The current set-up in the UK “conspires against” such collaboration, Lenczner said. He added that the National Infrastructure Strategy (NIS) – published last month - misses “significant opportunities” by organising infrastructure in separate “silos”.