page_title: History of High Speed 2
section_title: High-speed Crewe hub
hierarchical_section_title: History of High Speed 2 / Choice of route / Phase One – London to the West Midlands / High-speed Crewe hub
caption_attribution_description: Crewe railway station from the air looking NE in 2005
context_page_description: The history of High Speed 2 is the background to the planned construction of High Speed 2, a new high-speed railway in Great Britain that will connect London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and other cities in the UK.
  Construction is planned in two phases: Phase One will include the route from London to Birmingham, and Phase 2 will consist of a Y-shaped route north of Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds. Work on Phase One of the route began in 2017, and passenger services are planned to begin in 2026. Phase 2a to Crewe on the initial part of the western leg of the "Y" is due to start services in 2027, and the remainder of phase 2b by 2033.
context_section_description: Sir David Higgins, the chairman of HS2 Ltd, proposed a high-speed hub at the Crewe junction, which was not a part of Phase One, but would be built simultaneously with Phase One. Crewe is currently a major rail junction with six radiating classic lines to: Scotland/Liverpool, Birmingham/London, Chester, Shrewsbury, Stoke and Manchester. The intention is for high-speed trains to run off the northbound HS2 line into the high-speed hub and out onto classic lines without passing through the bottleneck of the existing Crewe station, maintaining high line speeds.  The hub's advantage is that many more regions and cities can be accessed via a combination of HS2 and classic lines, giving overall superior journey times.  A new station is proposed as a part of the high-speed hub. Higgins aims to have the HS2 line from Birmingham to Crewe, which is in Phase 2a of the project, and the high-speed Crewe Hub, incorporated in the Phase One construction plan.
  On 30 November 2015 it was announced that completion of the Crewe hub would be brought forward to 2027.
  The proposed hub is to be located at the site of the existing station, which will access all classic lines radiating from Crewe. A branch from HS2 to the WCML north of Crewe is being considered. This will enable trains to pass under and by-pass the high-speed hub and run onto the WCML.
caption: Crewe station looking NE showing the six converging classic railway lines
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