HS2 HIGH SPEED TRAIN PHASE 2 - WALTON

Walton, wakefield. Parish Outline
An extract taken from reference 1 below.
(ECML = East Coast Main Line.)

Please refer to GOV.UK for the official maps of the government's initial preferred route for phase two of HS2 from the West Midlands to Leeds and Manchester.

"HS2 Project Timeline

We are determined to get cracking with HS2. We have already completed the consultation on Phase 1, and in?2013 we will begin seeking powers from Parliament to construct the line between London and the West Midlands. The first shovels will hit the ground in 2017 and the first high speed trains should be speeding along the tracks between Birmingham and London by 2026."

Source High Speed Two Limited (HS2 Ltd), which is responsible for developing proposals for a new national high speed rail network. It is a company limited by guarantee and wholly funded by grant-in-aid from the government.
HS2 is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Transport.

As far as our neck of the woods is concerned, it appears that the HS2 service will open to passengers in 2033 (HS2 Key Dates).

Read an article in the Wakefield Express (2nd Nov 2013) about the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council considering it's response to the HS2 proposal.

Campaigners call on Wakefield Council to take a stance on HS2 - more news on the Wakefield Express website (19th January 2014).

Sir David Attenborough has backed a campaign to have the Walton Hall estate recognised for its cultural importance by the United Nations, as campaigners try to prevent the government from running a high-speed railway line through the site. (Wakefield Express 15th April 2015). See also this article in the Yorkshire Post, 17th April 2015. (Link accessed 30/10/2015.)

Read David Attenborough's excellent Zoo Quest to Guiana, (1956), available on Amazon, and an article about the quest in the National Geographic Magazine, June 1957 (Vol. CXI, No. 6).
All of this before British Guiana became Guyana.

~~~~

Ready to start digging! The Proposed Route Through Walton Civil Parish

■ For a detailed unofficial map of the HS2 route through Walton Civil Parish click here.

■ For pictures of the areas that might be affected by the HS2 route through Walton Civil Parish click here.

From north to south, the proposed railway route is:

It enters Walton from Crofton on an embankment and crosses Shay Lane (B6378) via a viaduct over the existing freight line ('tin bridge').
The line then splits at this new viaduct:

a. The main HS2 line continues southwards on an embankment to the east of Goldwing Farm, crossing the existing East Coast Mainline (ECML) via a bridge between between the Nine Arches Viaduct and Hare Park Junction, i.e. between Thorntree and Highwood Farms. There is a public right of way (Crofton Footpath No.8) to the north of the ECML from Shay Lane, by Goldwing Farm, to Hare Park Junction, affected by the embankment and bridge.

b. A branch line continues on an embankment and bridge over the ECML line, to the east of the new main HS2 line, also between the Nine Arches Viaduct and Hare Park Junction, passing to the north of Highwood Farm and Hare Park and to the south of the ECML at Hare Park Junction. This line connects to a new HS2 rolling stock yard in Crofton. This line also affects public right of way Crofton Footpath No. 8.
On the main HS2 route heading southwards, the embankment gives way to a cutting through Thorntree Hill. This area is farmland.
The cutting then gives way to an embankment as the route nears the south-eastern corner of Walton Park (Waterton Park Golf Course) and Stubbs Wood (location of the grave of Squire Charles Waterton). Walton Park is considered to be the world's first nature reserve. The route affects a public right of way (Walton Footpath No. 3), which runs from Shay Lane (between Drain Beck and Brook Farm), along the length of the eastern wall of Walton Park, meeting Walton Footpaths no. 18 and 17, then across farmland to Anglers Country Park.
The line then enters a cutting as it passes Haw Park Wood (a local nature reserve). It crosses a spur of the Trans Pennine Trail and Walton Footpaths no. 10 and 14 as it heads towards Cold Hiendley Reservoir.
The proposed route then crosses the eastern end of Cold Hiendley Reservoir via a viaduct near the dam separating it from Wintersett Reservoir. It then continues south on an embankment. Ryhill Pits Lane is to be closed.

Please note that this is an unofficial view of the information available about HS2 and no warranty is made as to its accuracy.

SOURCES
1. Route map West Midlands to Leeds
Plan of the initial preferred route from the West Midlands to Leeds showing which route section covers which area.
(West Midlands to Leeds route section map - drawing number HS2-ARP-000-DR-RT-55001)

2. Route section HSL16 Blackburn to Cold Hiendley
Route section HSL16 plan and profile sheet 4 of 4 - drawing number HS2-ARP-LR0-DR-RT-55164

3. Route section HSL17 Cold Hiendley to Church Fenton
Route section HSL17 key plan - drawing number HS2-ARP-LR0-DR-RT-55170
Route section HSL17 plan and profile sheet 1 of 5 - drawing number HS2-ARP-LR0-DR-RT-55171

4. Route section HSL21 Cold Hiendley to Woodlesford
Route section HSL21 key plan - drawing number HS2-ARP-LR0-DR-RT-55210.

Find out more at GOV.UK