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(BUTTON) Search with google * Make a contribution * Subscribe * (BUTTON) International edition + switch to the UK edition + switch to the US edition + switch to the Australia edition * Search jobs * Dating * Holidays * Digital Archive * Discount Codes * The Guardian app * Video * Podcasts * Pictures * Newsletters * Today's paper * Inside the Guardian * The Observer * Guardian Weekly * Crosswords * Facebook * Twitter * Search jobs * Dating * Holidays * Digital Archive * Discount Codes * UK * UK politics * Education * Media * Society * Law * Scotland * Wales * Northern Ireland (BUTTON) More HS2 This article is more than 5 years old What is HS3?: proposed sub-Pennine rail line explained This article is more than 5 years old Reducing east-to-west journey times is ‘a necessity’ for a prosperous north – but how will that happen? Gwyn Topham, transport correspondent @GwynTopham Mon 27 Oct 2014 13.35 GMT Last modified on Thu 30 Nov 2017 06.32 GMT * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share via Email An artist's impression of an HS2 train on the Birmingham and Fazeley viaduct, part of the proposed r [ ] An artist’s impression of an HS2 train on the Birmingham and Fazeley viaduct, part of the proposed route for the HS2 high speed rail scheme. Photograph: PA What is this HS3 thing? This is the name the government is giving to its ambition to speed up connections between the big cities of the north from east to west. At the moment, the £50bn HS2 network is planned to run from London to Birmingham and then in two forks north, to Leeds and Manchester. HS3 would provide faster direct links across the Pennines between the last two cities, reducing journey times across the north. So are they proposing an extra leg of the new high-speed network? No. Services can run much faster than they do now but not with the same trains or track as HS2 – think 125mph maximum rather than 225mph. The proximity and landscape doesn’t lend itself to that kind of high-speed network. There will be a few options under consideration, ranging from a new track to upgrading parts of the existing route and building lots of new tunnels or reopening some existing, unused tunnels. Has the fighting over HS2 finished then? Not quite – perhaps one reason why the government likes the name HS3, to make it look like Britain is moving on to the next thing. But parliament has given its assent for phase one to Birmingham, the part of the route which sees a relatively higher number of losers than winners from the scheme than further north, so it would be politically perverse to stop there. The hybrid bill, giving full planning permission for the detailed phase one route, still has to pass through parliament. Why is the chairman of HS2 talking about this given that it’s a different thing? When Sir David Higgins, the former boss of Network Rail, took up his new post he was asked to review the plans for HS2; his report out on Monday looks at the chosen route for the second phase. His view is the route is sound, although the location and construction of some stations (Leeds, and Toton in the East Midlands) could be tweaked, but all of HS2 needs to be integrated properly with the rest of the rail network to provide maximum benefits: building HS2 piecemeal, without proper consideration of broader transport networks, could further unbalance the country’s economy. And he says the north has been pretty underserved till now. How bad is it? Higgins says connectivity is poor, trains crowded and unreliable, and says the marked lack of commuters between two nearby urban centres demonstrates how links are impeding economic growth. Journeys of 40 miles between Manchester and Leeds take almost an hour. Higgins thinks 26 minutes would be quite feasible. As the spine of connections across the north, that would also cut journey times throughout the region. Other projects already announced and under way, including the northern hub schemes, will see wider electrification of track and other upgrades bringing towns and cities much closer together. Is there any money or action promised? Not yet, but there is cross-party recognition of the need to give the north some upgraded transport links. One figure cited by the BBC from an unnamed industry expert – though not from Higgins – is around £7bn, which comes in at less than half the price of Crossrail, the mass-transit line that will be running across London from 2018. The creation of a new body comprised of leaders across five major cities, Transport for the North, should help keep up the political impetus for concerted action, when more detailed options for faster links are presented by Higgins in March. Topics * HS2 * Rail transport * Rail travel * Transport policy * Transport * news * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share via Email * Share on LinkedIn * Share on Pinterest * Share on WhatsApp * Share on Messenger * Reuse this content more on this story * HS3: cross-Pennine railway line will help rebalance economy, says PM David Cameron welcomes Sir David Higgins’ report, which stresses need for improved rail links across north of England Published: 27 Oct 2014 HS3: cross-Pennine railway line will help rebalance economy, says PM * Crossrail 2 plan boosted by Boris Johnson funding claims London mayor says Treasury is prepared to meet half the £20bn costs as transport authorities announce preferred route Published: 28 Oct 2014 Crossrail 2 plan boosted by Boris Johnson funding claims * HS3: Pennines rail tunnel key to high-speed plans for the north Ministers back HS2 chief’s radical overhaul of service with claims that huge cuts in east-to-west journey times are ‘a necessity’ Published: 27 Oct 2014 HS3: Pennines rail tunnel key to high-speed plans for the north * Manchester to Leeds TransPennine Express – in pictures Guardian photographer Christopher Thomond takes the TransPennine Express from Manchester to Leeds on the day plans are announced for the development of a high-speed cross-Pennine railway line, ‘HS3’, between the two cities Gallery Published: 27 Oct 2014 Manchester to Leeds TransPennine Express – in pictures * + HS2 construction HQ to be based in Birmingham Published: 21 Jul 2014 HS2 construction HQ to be based in Birmingham + HS2 salaries in excess of PM's pay are justified, says transport secretary Published: 4 Jul 2014 HS2 salaries in excess of PM's pay are justified, says transport secretary + HS2 safeguarding directions legally flawed, high court told Published: 10 Jun 2014 HS2 safeguarding directions legally flawed, high court told (BUTTON) More more on this story Most popular * UK * UK politics * Education * Media * Society * Law * Scotland * Wales * Northern Ireland * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle IFRAME: /email/form/footer/today-uk + Contact us + Complaints & corrections + SecureDrop + Work for us + Privacy policy + Cookie policy + Terms & conditions + Help + All topics + All writers + Digital newspaper archive + Facebook + Twitter + Advertise with us + Search UK jobs + Dating + Discount Codes Support The Guardian Available for everyone, funded by readers Contribute Subscribe Back to top © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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