Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Phase 2 of HS2 will reduce or increase capacity of the West Coast Main Line north of Birmingham.

HS2 will provide high-speed inter-city services on dedicated lines that will free up train paths and platforms on the West Coast Main Line, and generate much-needed additional network capacity for both passenger and freight services.

The indicative train service assumptions that inform the HS2 and NPR business cases included HS2 services to several destinations on the north end of the West Coast Main Line that may free up conventional rail paths to those destinations. No final decisions have been made on the train service that will run when HS2 becomes operational. These decisions will be taken nearer the time, drawing on advice from the West Coast Partnership and Network Rail, and will be subject to public consultation.