The Campaign for Better Transport says to stop the rush to sell off HS2 land. The influential lobby group has added its voice to the urgent call to put a hold on the headlong disposal of land acquired for the cancelled northern section of the HS2 high-speed rail project. They say that without a rethink on future policy, the actual loss will be to rail freight development opportunities.

Rail freight opportunities are still possible, even after the capacity-enhancing HS2 high-speed rail project has been restricted to a Birmingham – London shuttle. That’s the word from the Campaign for Better Transport, the independent group better known for their passenger-centric lobby. The fifty-year-old body has echoed the advice of the National Infrastructure Commission, chaired by John Armitt, whose high-level career includes a spell as chair of Network Rail, the UK rail infrastructure agency.

Even more detrimental to rail freight growth

The Campaign for Better Transport may be more widely known for pursuing passenger issues across England and Wales. However, their stated mission to make transport better, greener, and fairer cuts across into the rail freight sector when it comes to opinions on the future of the HS2 high-speed rail project. The UK government decided to cancel the last remaining part of the HS2 project north of Birmingham back in October. However, the Campaign says the land acquired for the Manchester section should be retained for now. They say a sell-off will have an even more detrimental effect on rail freight growth and severely restrict future freight movements.

The Campaign statement comes in response to the views of the National Infrastructure Commission chair, John Armitt. The former Network Rail chair has said the UK Government should pause the sale of land acquired for HS2. “The decision to cancel HS2 north of Birmingham leaves a major gap in the UK’s rail strategy around which a number of cities have based their economic growth plans”, says the Commission in their latest National Infrastructure Assessment. “While the government has committed to re-allocate all the released funding to improve transport, including rail links, in the North and Midlands, it is not yet clear what the exact scope and delivery schedule is for the proposed new rail schemes. A new comprehensive, long-term, and fully costed plan that sets out how rail improvements will address the capacity and connectivity challenges facing city regions in the North and Midlands is needed.”

Far-sighted campaign to find profitable use

The long-term implications of cancelling the northern leg of HS2 have yet to be properly assessed, says the Campaign. They say that the cost savings are only part of the picture, and the strategy may be penny-wide and pound-foolish. “Sir John is right in his call to stop the sale of land acquired for HS2”, said Norman Baker, their director of external affairs and a former transport minister in the UK Government. “It would be wrong of the Government to sell it before we understand the full implication of scrapping the HS2 link to Manchester.”

The emphasis of HS2 had been shifted from providing a high-speed network, which the UK had doubtful need, to a network capacity enhancement that the UK most certainly needs urgently. The often professed desire to radically increase rail freight utilisation cannot be achieved without significant new investment and potentially new lines. For these reasons, the irony of the Government’s cancellation of HS2 was not lost. Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, made the statement at his Conservative Party conference, being held in Manchester, which is by some measures the most industrial centre in Great Britain. He was speaking at a formerly railway terminal venue – that was only saved from the wrecker’s ball by a far-sighted campaign to find a profitable new use for the building.