High Speed 2

High Speed 2 (HS2) is a proposed new high speed rail link connecting London to the Midlands. Phase 1 of HS2 would provide a new rail line from London to Birmingham.  Phase 2 of HS2 would extend the new high speed rail network to Manchester and Leeds. Although the proposed route will terminate at Euston, in neighbouring Camden, the route itself does not run through Islington. 

Link between High Speed 1 (HS2) and High Speed 2 (HS2)

As part of Phase 1 of HS2, it has been proposed to link HS2 to the existing HS1 rail line (King’s Cross St Pancras to mainland Europe), using part of the London Overground network (North London Line) within Camden. Although this proposed HS1-HS2 link is outside Islington, it would impact on the future expansion of London Overground services on the North London Line.   

An announcement was recently made by Patrick McLoughlin MP to Parliament on 24 March 2014, confirming that he intends to remove the HS1-HS2 link from the HS2 Hybrid Bill (see below for more information on the Hybrid Bill itself). Further announcements are yet to be made on whether an alternative HS1-HS2 link will be proposed.  

Hybrid Bill

The Government has deposited a ‘Hybrid Bill’ with Parliament for Phase 1 of HS2 between London and West Midlands. A Bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to change an existing law that is presented for debate before Parliament. The Hybrid Bill would provide powers to construct and maintain Phase 1 of the new rail line. More information on the Hybrid Bill can be found on the HS2 website.

The Hybrid Bill went through the First Reading at the House of Commons on 25 November 2013. The Second Reading for the Bill will take place at the House of Commons on 28 April 2014.  More information on the progress of the Bill can be found on the Parliament website.

Environmental Statement

The Government has also prepared an Environmental Statement to accompany the Hybrid Bill. The Environmental Statement sets out the environmental and social impacts of Phase 1 of HS2 (including the HS1-HS2 link previously proposed), along with the measures proposed to mitigate these impacts. Consultation on the Environmental Statement finished in February 2014, and feedback on the documents is currently being analysed. More information on the Environmental Statement can be found here.

Islington Council and other local authorities have received the Environmental Statement documents, and are required to make this information available to interested members of the public. Therefore hard copies of the Environmental Statement are available to view at Islington Council’s Municipal Offices. Please contact the Spatial Planning and Transport team if you wish to arrange a viewing. 

• Address:         Fourth Floor, Laycock Wing, 222 Upper Street, London N1 1XR  

If you have any queries, you can contact the HS2 public queries team by phone or email:

• Phone:            020 7944 4908 (phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
• Email:             HS2Enquiries@hs2.org.uk