HS2 sparks fears for London rail link hope

A Network Rail report that examined the prospect of a Shrewsbury-London Euston service and other new routes on the West Coast Main Line has said there would be capacity for additional off-peak trains on the route once improvement works take place.

But the report said Network Rail has "low confidence" in its ability to add any extra services along the line should the controversial High Speed 2 (HS2) scheme come to fruition and take up capacity at London Euston.

Campaigners from HS2 Action Alliance said the document shows HS2 would "wipe out" any chance of a direct rail link between Shrewsbury and London on the West Coast Main Line.

Virgin Trains is hoping to start services between Shropshire and London from December and has agreed routes and times in principle with Network Rail. Approval is required from Office of Rail Regulation.

But Virgin is only running the West Coast Main Line on an interim basis with a decision on who will hold the long-term franchise for the route yet to be decided – meaning there is uncertainty of the long-term future of any potential Shropshire-London service.

The Network Rail report, which was published in October by operational planning manager David Jackson, said once improvements have been carried out along the West Coast Main Line by December 2016, it has "high confidence" there would be capacity for an additional service every hour between the off-peak times of 10am and 4pm.

Potential new routes from Euston highlighted in the report included one to Shrewsbury via Stafford.

But it said should HS2 construction work start at Euston as planned next year, it would have "low confidence" that any further services beyond what is included in its current timetable could be delivered effectively.

It said HS2 construction at Euston would reduce the number of platforms available to trains operating on the West Coast Main Line (WCML).

The report said: "High Speed 2 is not yet a committed scheme. However, construction work is planned to start in 2015 and it is important that the impact is understood. Our understanding of HS2 Ltd's proposals is that this will reduce the number of running lines on the approaches to London Euston from six to four and the number of WCML platforms at the station from 18 to 13.

"Capacity analysis work undertaken by HS2 Ltd has assumed that there are no additional services operating on the WCML to and from London Euston.

"They have concluded that the peak hour timetables would have to be operated differently to that of today, with reduced turnround times needed to facilitate operation of the current service."

The report was written ahead of Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin admitting this week it was unlikely HS2 would be approved by Parliament before next May's General Election.

The scheme, which has an estimated total cost of £50.1 billion, is designed to cut journey times between London, the Midlands and the north of England.

Richard Houghton, of HS2 Action Alliance, said: "Now the truth of the matter that if HS2 goes ahead then Shrewsbury will not get a direct rail service to London is out in the open, the population of Shropshire has a right to be aggrieved.

"HS2, from the moment spades go in the ground, will completely wipe out any chance of Shrewsbury getting a direct connection to the capital in the foreseeable future for the simple reason that for 10 years after construction starts there will be complete chaos in Euston - with a cut in the number of platforms from 18 to 13, and 33 per cent fewer lines into the station to accommodate construction work - and after HS2 starts operating there will be no train paths available, which are a little like airline slots, for a direct service to Shrewsbury."

A spokesman for Network Rail said: "Our analysis shows that additional trains on the line would have an unacceptable impact on performance for the thousands of other trains, passengers and freight customers who use the West Coast main line every day.

"We are currently working with Virgin Trains on proposals for direct trains between Shrewsbury and London to run from December 2014.

"In addition, the government will also aim to ensure that all towns or cities which currently have a direct service to London will retain broadly comparable or better services once HS2 is completed."