Tag: Keir Starmer

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the proposed Crossrail 2 project; and what assessment he has made of the relationship between that project and the successful completion of work on High Speed 2 at Euston Station.

Mr Robert Goodwill

A decision is yet to be taken on Government support for or investment in Crossrail 2.

The current safeguarding direction represents the proposed route and includes an area north of the Euston Road, necessary if Crossrail 2 was to serve Euston Station.

The completion of work on High Speed 2 at Euston Station is not dependent on the construction of Crossrail 2.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what increase there has been in the mitigation and compensation budget of High Speed 2 as a result of the greater impact of AP3 construction works on Camden residents and businesses in (a) intensity, (b) length of construction period and (c) need for temporary rehousing and secondary glazing.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The cost of mitigating the construction works impacts arising from changes to the hybrid Bill scheme for Euston introduced by AP3 and the budget for any additional statutory and discretionary compensation costs will be accommodated within the existing overall budget for Phase One of HS2.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications have been made in each community forum area in Camden under the (a) Exceptional Hardship and (b) Need to Sell schemes of High Speed 2; and what the outcome of each such application has been.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We do not categorise applications for the Phase One Exceptional Hardship Scheme (EHS) or the Need to Sell (NTS) scheme by the applicant’s Community Forum Area. Nevertheless, from Holborn and St Pancras, we have received six Phase One EHS applications, including two reapplications. Two have been accepted, two were refused and two were withdrawn. Regarding the NTS, from Holborn and St Pancras we have received six applications, including one reapplication. Three have been accepted, two were declined and one is on hold.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what compensation HS2 Ltd has to pay to rail franchise holders for the track possessions required to bring High Speed 2 to Euston; and what effect the provisions made in the AP3 Environmental Statement have had on this figure.

Mr Robert Goodwill

HS2 Ltd deposited an Additional Provision (AP3) to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill on 16 September 2015 which includes revised plans for London Euston station. The new plans focus on an incremental strategy which will deliver new high speed platforms (Stages A and B1) and do not preclude wider redevelopment of the existing station in the future (Stage B2).

We have listened to train operators and worked very closely with them throughout the development of the new design. The staged approach will mean less disruption to passengers using existing train services and therefore compensation to train operators. We have made budget provision for a level of compensation to train operators as part of the overall Phase One rail budget. These allowances have still to be agreed with the relevant train operators and will be assessed further as part of the design development process. The information also remains commercially sensitive.

Any necessary impacts to the existing railway will be carefully planned with Network Rail and the affected operators from the outset, learning from experiences at other major stations such as Kings Cross and London Bridge.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the current budget is for bringing High Speed 2 into Euston; and what proportion of this cost is accounted for by (a) tunnelling from Old Oak Common to the Euston Portal, (b) construction works in the Camden Cutting, (c) Phases A and B1 of the new station at Euston, (d) land acquisition costs, including any land transferred between public authorities and (e) mitigation measures and compensation.

Mr Robert Goodwill

HS2 Ltd deposited an Additional Provision (AP3) to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill on 16 September 2015 which includes revised plans for London Euston station. The new plans focus on an incremental strategy which will deliver new high speed platforms (Stages A and B1) and do not preclude wider redevelopment of the existing station in the future (Stage B2).

The new proposals for a phased approach to Euston station will be delivered within the existing budget for Phase One of HS2 of £21.4bn. Within this overall budget the estimated construction costs of our latest plan for Euston is £2.25bn.

It is not appropriate to provide a breakdown of the construction costs below this figure as this information is commercially sensitive and would compromise the forthcoming procurement process for these works.

We will continue to work with our contractors and the rail industry to find the most cost efficient way of delivering the project.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will ensure that public land required by HS2 Ltd only during the construction phase will be returned to the relevant local authority for reprovison for community facilities.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Virtually all the land compulsorily acquired for HS2 will be used permanently for the construction and operation of the new railway. Where land compulsorily acquired becomes surplus to requirements, in accordance with the Crichel Down Rules and subject to key Guiding Principles set out in the High Speed Two Information Paper – C6: DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS LAND, landowners may be offered the opportunity to buy back land, at market value. The future use of land returned to local authorities would therefore be a matter for them to decide.

High Speed Two Information Paper C6: DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS LAND attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when funds will be made available to enable the eastern section of the station at Euston to be redeveloped; and if he will ensure that this is developed as a level-deck station with platforms at the same levels as those for High Speed 2.

Mr Robert Goodwill

HS2 Ltd deposited an Additional Provision (AP3) to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill on 16 September 2015 which includes revised plans for London Euston station. The new plans focus on an incremental strategy which will deliver new high speed platforms (Stages A and B1) and do not preclude wider redevelopment of the existing station in the future (Stage B2).

The redevelopment of the existing station (Stage B2) will be subject to separate planning and funding decisions that will be made at an appropriate point in the process. Network Rail is preparing plans for the feasibility work of this redevelopment which will be submitted as part of its Control Period 6 (CP6) submission (which covers the period 2019-2024). These plans will consider the impacts of all options for station redevelopment including level-deck and split-level concourses and will include an assessment of the effects of this redevelopment, including the potential effects on local residents, businesses and rail users. The process will start with the Initial Industry Plan which is anticipated to be published in September 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 31 of the report by the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee entitled The economics of HS2, published on 25 March 2015, what steps the Government has taken to estimate the overall reduction of cost to High Speed 2 of terminating the line at Old Oak Common, including any necessary redesign of the station at Old Oak Common to make this possible and calculate the effect on the project’s cost benefit analysis.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Terminating at Old Oak Common as an option was sifted out early in the decision making process for the London terminus given the weakness of the option, particularly in relation to its limited connectivity benefits. For this reason, the Government is not considering the option in any further detail and does not have cost estimates on a basis which would enable comparison with the preferred Euston terminus option. Euston is the best location for city centre connectivity and has the best onward transport connections to disperse passengers across London and it already has great London Underground connections on the Victoria and Northern lines and the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines from Euston Square. The only way for onward travel from an Old Oak Common terminus would be Crossrail – any service interruption to Crossrail would potentially result in having to close HS2 as passengers would have no adequate alternative onward connection option. A Euston terminus is also essential for releasing capacity on the West Coast Mainline which is effectively full in terms of train paths.

In addition to not meeting our programme objectives, a terminus at Old Oak Common would still incur a number of significant costs. These include:

• Construction of a much larger HS2 station at the same depth as the Proposed Scheme (approximately 15m below ground level). A terminus station would need not only additional platforms but also additional servicing circulation and interchange facilities.
• Relocation of the Crossrail depot to the north of the station. No alternative location has been identified.
• It might be necessary to acquire properties in Hythe Road and divert the Grand Union Canal in order to provide sufficient space for the platforms and circulation around the station.
• A subterranean drive under tunnel to the west of the North London Line

Finally, it is worth noting that a very substantial part of the cost of the HS2 scheme at Euston is for Underground and other interchange facilities. These works will be necessary at some stage to serve the growing passenger demand at Euston that would occur irrespective of HS2.