High Speed 2

High Speed 2
The planned extent of HS2 as of October 2023
Overview
Status	Under construction
Locale	Greater London South East England West Midlands
Termini	London Euston Birmingham Curzon Street
Connecting lines	West Coast Main Line
Stations	4
Website	www.hs2.org.uk
Service
Type	High-speed railway
System	National Rail
History
Commenced	2017
Planned opening	2029 to 2033[1]
Technical
Line length	230 km (140 mi)[2]
Number of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Loading gauge	UIC GC
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead line
Operating speed	360 km/h (225 mph) maximum, 330 km/h (205 mph) routinely[1]

High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which is under construction in England. The line will run between Handsacre, in southern Staffordshire, and London, with a spur to Birmingham. HS2 is to be Britain's second purpose-built high-speed railway after High Speed 1, which connects London to the Channel Tunnel. London and Birmingham will be served directly by new high speed track, and services to Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester will use a mix of new high speed track and the existing West Coast Main Line. The majority of the project is planned to be completed by 2033.

The new track will be built between London Euston and Handsacre, near Lichfield in southern Staffordshire, where a junction connects to the north-south West Coast Main Line. There will be new stations at Old Oak Common in northwest London; Birmingham Interchange, near Solihull; and Birmingham city centre. The trains will reach a maximum speed of 360 km/h (225 mph) when operating on HS2 track, but will be slower on conventional track.

The length of the new line has been reduced substantially since it was first announced in 2013. It was originally to split into eastern and western branches north of Birmingham Interchange; the eastern branch would have connected to the Midland Main Line and East Coast Main Line, with a branch to a terminus in Leeds, and the western branch would have had connections to the West Coast Main Line at Crewe and south of Wigan, and a branch to a terminus in Manchester. Between November 2021 and October 2023 the project was progressively cut until only the London to Handsacre and Birmingham section remained.

The project has both supporters and opponents. Supporters of HS2 believe that the additional capacity provided will accommodate passenger numbers rising to pre-COVID-19 levels while driving a further modal shift to rail. Opponents believe that the project is neither environmentally nor financially sustainable.