HS2's Handsacre link delayed four years as focus shifts to Birmingham

Local TV

HS2 has delayed the 18-mile Handsacre link to the West Coast Main Line by four years, prioritising Old Oak Common to Birmingham Curzon Street. We examine the impact on passengers, jobs and local communities, and ask who is accountable for costs, dates and delivery.

Transcript

00:00North of Birmingham, the link from the High Speed Line to the West Coast Mine Line is delayed by four years.

00:08Without it, faster trains north stay on Piper, while Staffordshire lives with the works.

00:13HS2 calls it a reset. Focus people and money on Old Oak Common to Curzon Street.

00:19Open that first, finish Hanseich a lighter. Birmingham gains sooner, the rest whites.

00:24Local leaders say they've taken the hit with no payoff.

00:27In Lichfield and at nearby villages, land's been taken, roads reworked and plans tied to dates that slip.

00:33They want firm timings, mitigation that sticks and jobs in the pores.

00:38HS2 says Hanseich isn't scrapped. Essential works continue to allow a restart,

00:43but the time-saving north, by joining HS2 then switching to the West Coast Mine Line, now lands lighter.

00:50And with the Euston uncertain, Old Oak stays the London end for longer, meaning a change for many travellers.

00:56The bigger picture is cost and credibility. Delying the connector weakens the climb that HS2 unlocks regions beyond the West Midlands.

01:04If Fize One opens alone, benefits concentrate here. Construction jobs now, station rolls lighter,

01:10with little along the West Coast Mine Line corridor until the link is built.

01:14Questions are direct to HS2. When does work resume? What gets finished in the pause?

01:20And what is the revised cost? To ministers, how is value for money tested if benefits are deferred?

01:27And what stops more slippage? People will judge this by what moves and when.

01:32Trains on the platform beat promises on a podium. Until the connector is built, the West Coast carries the strain,

01:38and the North keeps whiting.

01:44.

01:46.

01:47.

01:56.

01:59.

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