In March 2010 the Department for Transport (DfT) published the High Speed Rail Command Paper setting out plans for the development of an initial core high speed rail (HSR) network. In the first phase this would link London to Birmingham. Natural England commissioned TRL to undertake an independent strategic analysis of the sustainability case for High Speed 2 (HS2), focusing mainly on the environmental impacts of the proposals.
Please Note:
Natural England commission a range of reports from external contractors to provide evidence and advice to assist us in delivering our duties.Therefore, the views in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of Natural England.
It should be noted that this study was undertaken by TRL before the publication of the high speed rail consultation documents by HS2 Ltd in February 2011. The analysis is therefore based on older documentation published in 2010 and does not reflect the most recent work on the Appraisal of Sustainability nor amendments to the proposed route alignment.