page_title: High Speed 2 Phase Two
section_title: Manchester city centre (phase 2b)
hierarchical_section_title: High Speed 2 Phase Two / Birmingham to Manchester (phases 2a & 2b) / Manchester city centre (phase 2b)
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the proposed extension of Manchester Piccadilly station, UK, as part of the HS2 project This map was created from OpenStreetMap project data, collected by the community. This map may be incomplete, and may contain errors. Don't rely solely on it for navigation.
context_page_description: High Speed 2 is a planned new high-speed railway line connecting London with the city centres of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds directly on new high speed track. East Midlands Airport will also be served. The railway is to be delivered in two phases:
  Phase 1: linking London and Birmingham.
  Phase 2: linking Birmingham with Manchester and Leeds.
  Phase 2 is planned for completion in 2032–33. Phase two is split into two sub-phases:
  Phase 2a: the section from Birmingham to Crewe, which is to be built simultaneously with phase 1, effectively merging with phase 1.
  Phase 2b: the remainder of phase 2.
  The concept of HS2 was that all major cities covered would have a city centre HS2 station. Liverpool, along with London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, was envisaged to have a city centre HS2 station. The scheme was cut down to only three provincial city centres served directly by HS2, two being on phase 2. The preliminary route for Phase Two was announced on 28 January 2013. It is envisaged construction on Phase Two will start in 2022 with completion by 2032.
context_section_description: The route will continue from the airport into Manchester city centre via a 7.5-mile (12.1 km) bored tunnel under the dense urban districts of south Manchester before surfacing at Ardwick. The tunnel will be the longest rail tunnel to be built in the United Kingdom, surpassing the 6.2-mile (10.0 km) High Speed 1 tunnel completed in 2004. It is anticipated that the stretch from Rostherne in Cheshire to Ardwick will take up to 7 years to construct.
  The 7.6 mile twin-bore tunnel will be at an average depth of 33 metres and trains will travel at 142 miles per hour (229 km/h) through the tunnel. The diameter size of the tunnel is dependent on the train speed and length of the tunnel. It is envisaged both tunnels will be, as an 'absolute minimum', at least 7.25 metres in diameter to accommodate the high speed trains.
  Up to fifteen sites were put forward including Sportcity, Pomona Island, expanding Deansgate railway station and re-configuring the disused grade-II listed Manchester Central terminal station building back into a station. Three final sites made the long list: Manchester Piccadilly station, Salford Central station and a newly built station at Salford Middlewood Locks. Three approaches were considered, one via the M62, one via the River Mersey and the other through south Manchester. Both Manchester and Salford City Council recommended routing High Speed 2 to Manchester Piccadilly to maximise economic potential and connectivity rather than building a new station at a greater cost and which could be isolated from existing transport links.
  HS2 trains will terminate at an upgraded Manchester Piccadilly station. At least four new 400-metre-long (1,300 ft) platforms will be built to accommodate the new high-speed trains in addition to the two platforms which are currently planned as part of the Northern Hub proposal. It is envisaged Platform 1 under the existing listed train shed will also be converted to a fifth HS2 platform to reduce cost. However at 242 metres long, it is the shortest platform at the station and falls short of the 400 metre platform required to accommodate High Speed trains. The HS2 concourse will be connected to the existing concourse at Piccadilly. HS2 will reduce the average journey time from central Manchester to central London from 2 hours 8 minutes to 1 hour 8 minutes.
caption: Map of the proposed extension of Manchester Piccadilly station
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