Aviation report could alter the route of HS2
THE HIGH-SPEED rail link between London and the North could be relocated to pass through Heathrow, if the government allows the airport to expand after 2015.
The Department for Transport (DfT) yesterday said that a bill will be introduced by the end of 2013 to get the ball rolling on building High Speed 2, as planned.
But reports suggest that the Davies Commission, set up by the coalition to assess Britain’s air capacity, could end up sparking a rethink on the rail route if it recommends a larger Heathrow.
The coalition remains against a new runway at Britain’s busiest airport, but only until the 2015 election. HS2 would run around nine miles to the north of Heathrow under the current plans.
A spokesperson for the DfT said: “There is a large amount of engineering design and environmental assessment work that has to be done in preparation for depositing the hybrid bill in Parliament towards the end of 2013.”