A HOUSE OF COMMONS report has concluded that High Speed 2 must be built, saying there is no alternative to constructing a domestic High Speed line if the railway's long-term capacity problems are to be solved.
The report is the result of a four-month inquiry by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for High Speed Rail.
It has ruled out upgrades to the existing network, because they would not add enough capacity. The key problem is the West Coast Main Line, where operator London Midland is set to introduce some 110mph (176km/h) trains to provide some additional train paths in the short term.
Network Rail has also warned that the route from London Euston to Birmingham and Manchester is running out of space now, and there are fears that a major capacity crunch will strike long before the first phase of HS2 is opened in 2026.
The report points out that growth in passenger demand is already running a decade ahead of predictions on many lines, and that the alternative upgrades which have been suggested by those groups opposing HS2 would do little to help commuter services or freight.
Eurotunnel is hoping to run trains carrying 4-metre high freight containers along the West Coast Main Line at least as far as the international rail freight terminal at Daventry within the next decade, and other freight customers are also expected to demand more West Coast paths in the years ahead.
Centro has said that HS2 could be the catalyst which creates 40,000 new jobs in the West Midlands alone.
The report also warns that the risks of providing insufficient capacity to cater for future demand are 'severe', and much more serious than doing too much.
The group's co-chairman Graham Stringer said:"All the available evidence makes clear that the very running of our railways is under threat as we fast approach total saturation on some of the major trunk lines.
"HS2 remains the only proper and practicable solution to creating sufficient long-term capacity for Britain's railways."
Anti-HS2 campaigners have remained unconvinced, claiming that there is more yet-unused capacity on the WCML, that growth in rail demand is attributable to recent rises in fuel prices, and that teleconferencing will make many business journeys unnecessary in years to come.