High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill 2024-25

The High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) 2024-25 (Bill 006) was reintroduced to the House of Commons on 25 July 2024. The bill was carried over from the previous Parliament, in accordance with the carry-over motion agreed by the House on 20 June 2022. Second reading took place on 20 June 2022. When the bill was reintroduced in July 2024 it was once again committed to a dedicated select committee.

The government has reintroduced the bill so that it can be repurposed for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), a programme of strategic rail investments to improve connectivity between cities and towns in the north of England.

Why has the government reintroduced this bill?

The 2024 King’s Speech confirmed that the government was continuing with the previous government’s decision to cancel phases 2a and 2b of HS2. The speech confirmed that the government was, however, reintroducing the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill, and would repurpose this to “construct and operate rail projects which improve east to west connectivity across the north of England.”

What type of bill is it?

The High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill is a hybrid bill.

This means that while the bill may be of general application, its contents would significantly affect the interests of particular individuals or organisations. If required, a hybrid bill can grant deemed planning permission for any scheme it provides for. Clause 18 of this bill (PDF) would do this.

What is Northern Powerhouse Rail?

The Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands set out plans for NPR, including a new high-speed railway line between Warrington, Manchester and Yorkshire. Prior to the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2b (Crewe - Manchester), NPR was intended to use HS2 tracks between High Legh (near Manchester Airport) and Manchester Piccadilly Station.

What are the implications for property, land and business owners?

Following the cancellation of Phase 2b in October 2023, the government said that some land safeguarded for Phase 2b may still be needed for NPR. To date, the Department for Transport (DfT) has not amended the safeguarding on the Phase 2b route, and the DfT and HS2 Limited have not disposed of any properties along the Phase 2 route. In September 2024, HS2 Limited confirmed that any land no longer required would be sold “in line with Treasury rules” (PDF) through a disposal programme.

The High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) 2024-25 Bill

The High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill would provide the necessary powers to construct a high-speed railway line from Crewe into Manchester (the western leg of HS2 Phase 2b, which has now been scrapped). The bill is in the same form as it was at the end of the previous Parliament, and instructions to the bill’s select committee previously agreed by the House continue to apply.

The House of Commons agreed a further instruction motion in May 2024, requiring the bill’s select committee to make further amendments to the bill. This left out the provisions for the southern part of the route while retaining the provision to construct a high-speed railway “between a point in the vicinity of the parish of Millington and Rostherne in Cheshire and Manchester Piccadilly Station”.

A further environmental assessment was due to be published as part of this adaptation of the bill. To date, this has not been published.

On its reintroduction in July 2024, the bill was deemed to have already received its second reading. This meant the bill’s passage through Parliament resumed at the stage it reached before it was carried over: committee stage. As a result, the bill was once again committed to a dedicated select committee. As of March 2025, membership of the bill’s select committee and details of the committee’s future programme have not yet been announced.

Further reading

The Library briefing High Speed Rail 2 – an overview provides further information on HS2.

The Library briefing Northern Powerhouse Rail provides further information on Northern Powerhouse Rail.

The Library briefing Hybrid Bills: House of Commons Background Paper provides further information on hybrid bills.