West coast fares could rise to incentivise people ‘to not travel by rail’, UK watchdog says | HS2

It’s an interesting gambit deliberately suppressing economic activity, let’s see if it pays off.

[Link to the report](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/hs2-update-following-cancellation-of-phase-2/)

>***Rail capacity on the West Coast Main Line***

>**4.19** DfT originally intended that the HS2 programme would address capacity on the
West Coast Main Line. It reported in 2020 that the line could reach capacity by the
mid-2030s. DfT expects that the revised programme will address capacity between
London and Birmingham, but there will remain a capacity issue on the west coast
north of Birmingham, that DfT will need to resolve.

>**4.20** DfT intends that HS2 services will run north of Birmingham on existing rail.
This may provide some time savings on those journeys running through to London,
but it will not improve capacity on the line. DfT plans for HS2 trains to substitute for
conventional trains, but these trains may have fewer seats than existing services.
HS2 Ltd estimates that between Manchester and Birmingham there could be a 17%
reduction in capacity, based on HS2 services replacing some of the conventional
train services. DfT is exploring options to run longer HS2 trains north of Birmingham,
but this would require additional works at existing stations such as at Crewe or
Preston. HS2 trains would also likely run slower than existing trains due to current
lower speed limits for non-tilting trains on the West Coast Main Line.

>**4.21** DfT will need to assess options for addressing capacity issues on the west
coast. These could involve, for example, the following.

>* Managing demand for the service. For example, by incentivising people to
travel at different times or to not travel by rail. This may constrain economic
growth in the region over the long term and increase environmental costs.

>* Improving or adding infrastructure. This may be expensive and disruptive.
If existing infrastructure were updated this would create major disruption on
a busy route.10 Additional infrastructure, such as additional tracks and longer
platforms, would need to be planned and delivered early enough to address
the capacity constraints.
DfT will need to balance trade-offs in developing options while considering the
impact on, and operation of, the railway as a whole.

wow, it is just so much cheaper anyway for a family of four to drive to Edinburgh from London in a hired car than to have to buy four tickets for the same train journey. I think even flying same family of four from London to Edinburgh is cheaper than the train

I already don’t use trains because it’s cheaper to drive, putting the prices up further isn’t going to help. These strategies only hurt those who can’t drive for whatever reason.

Guarantee we are going to have to spend more fixing the West Coast Mainline then it would cost to build HS2 in full including the eastern leg.

Classic British short term thinking.

It’s already too expensive. It’s cheaper for me to drive from south Scotland to Manchester, pay for 6 hours parking and drive home than a return train ticket.

With the added benefit that I can leave whenever I want and I don’t have to put up with anyone else!

The nation that pioneered the industrial revolution….

For those looking for an informative podcast/ video on the myths of HS2 (including the constant myths of increasing costs) I suggest listening to the Green Signals episode

https://youtu.be/hK35BiQwmZM?si=MHlnbpt084tfEwno

Bs
Just another excuse to raise prices cause they know people have no choice

So you’re being discouraged to drive a car, travel by train, travel by aeroplane. It’ll be like Bronte times soon where if you have business in London you’ll have to walk there and back, and bring an immigrant home on your way back.