Delivery of High Speed 2 could be brought forward and construction of phase two north of Birmingham may begin sooner than expected, a well placed source has confirmed.

High Speed 2's chairman Sir David Higgins is to present a report to the Transport Secretary in March, outlining how extra rail capacity can be provided as quickly as possible for towns and cities in the Midlands and northern England.

The document will also consider how the new route will link to existing rail lines, ensuring benefits for the whole country, and how costs will be controlled.

A spokesman for HS2 said he did not want to prejudice the report, but confirmed that starting the project sooner and from the north earlier than expected were options being considered.

Details of the forthcoming report were revealed in a Government response to the Transport Select Committee last week. The Committee had asked for an update on a series of recommendations it made to Government about the project in December.

The Committee had recommended that Sir David Higgins reports to Ministers on options for speeding up delivery of HS2 so that trains run north of Birmingham on high speed routes well before 2032 as currently envisaged. It had also asked for Sir David to report on building north to south concurrently with building south to north.

(Photo: HS2)

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