The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for 400 miles (644 km) and was opened from 1837 to 1881. With additional lines deviating to Northampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, this totals a route mileage of 700 miles (1,127 km). The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects the WCML to Edinburgh. However, the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line. Several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing links to more rural towns.
Patrick Allen McLoughlin, Baron McLoughlin, is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he first became the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Derbyshire following the 1986 by-election. The constituency became the Derbyshire Dales for the 2010 general election; McLoughlin remained the seat's MP until 2019.
In the United Kingdom a hybrid bill is a government measure which affects a particular individual or organisation in a different manner to other individuals or companies in the same class; it thus bears some resemblance to a private bill. No definitive rules dictate whether a bill is hybrid in substance; the decision is entrusted via the Speaker, to one or more House of Commons officials designated as the 'Examiners of petitions for Private Bills'. It is thus possible that a government unexpectedly finds itself promoting a private measure, upsetting its planned legislative timetable.
Regional Eurostar was a planned Eurostar train service from Paris and Brussels to locations in the United Kingdom to the north and west of London.
High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which is under construction in England. The line will run between Handsacre, in southern Staffordshire, and London, with a spur to Birmingham. HS2 is to be Britain's second purpose-built high-speed railway after High Speed 1, which connects London to the Channel Tunnel. London and Birmingham will be served directly by new high speed track, and services to Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester will use a mix of new high speed track and the existing West Coast Main Line. The majority of the project is planned to be completed by 2033.
Andrew George Stephenson FRSA is a former British politician who most recently served as Minister of State for Health and Secondary Care from November 2023 to July 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pendle in Lancashire from 2010 until 2024.
Iain Aitken Stewart is a British Conservative Party politician and former accountant. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Milton Keynes South from 2010 until the seat's abolition in 2024.
The Transport and Works Act 1992 (TWA) was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to provide a system by which the construction of rail transport, tramway, inland waterway and harbour infrastructure could proceed in the UK by order of the Secretary of State for Transport rather than, as before, on the passing of a private bill. Permissions granted under the TWA are issued in the form of a Transport and Works Act Order, often abbreviated to TWAO.
The Police Act 2011 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that amends those sections of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 relating to the detention of criminal suspects by police forces in England and Wales.
High Speed 2 was a planned new high-speed railway line connecting London with the city centres of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds directly on new high speed track. East Midlands Airport would also have been served.
James Ignatius O'Rourke McMahon is a British politician who has served as Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution since July 2024. A member of Labour Co-op, he has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Oldham West and Royton since 2015 and as the Chair of the Co-operative Party since 2020.
Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), sometimes referred to unofficially as High Speed 3, is a proposed major rail programme designed to substantially enhance the economic potential of the North of England. The phrase was adopted in 2014 for a project featuring new and significantly upgraded railway lines in the region. The aim is to transform rail services between the major towns and cities, requiring the region's single biggest transport investment since the Industrial Revolution. The original scheme would have seen a new high-speed rail line from Liverpool to Warrington continuing to join the HS2 tunnel which it would share into Manchester Piccadilly station. From there, the line would have continued to Leeds with a stop at Bradford. The line was intended to improve journey times and frequency between major Northern cities as well as creating more capacity for local service on lines that express services would have been moved out from.
James Roger Cartlidge is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Suffolk since 2015. He has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Defence since July 2024. He previously served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement from 2023 to 2024, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury from 2022 to 2023 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice between 2021 and 2022.
Christopher Patrick James Green is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton West from 2015 until 2024. He was re-elected in 2017 and 2019, increasing his majority and vote share at both general elections. He lost the seat in the 2024 general election.
R v Secretary of State for Transport [2014] UKSC 3 is a UK constitutional law case, concerning the conflict of law between a national legal system and European Union law.
The High Speed Rail Act 2017 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which authorises the construction of Phase One of High Speed 2, a high-speed railway between London and Birmingham. The Act was introduced to Parliament as a Hybrid Bill on 25 November 2013, and received royal assent on 23 February 2017.
The history of High Speed 2 is the background to the planned construction of High Speed 2 (HS2), a new high-speed railway in Great Britain that was originally planned to connect London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and other cities in the UK.
The High Speed Rail Bill Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Committee was established in 2018 with a remit to provide persons and bodies the opportunity to suggest amendments to the bill.
Robert Largan is a British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for High Peak from 2019 to 2024. He served as Assistant Government Whip from October 2022 until May 2024.
The Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands or more simply, the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), is a United Kingdom government proposal published on 18 November 2021. It aims to deliver "increased capacity, faster journeys or more frequent services on eight out of the top ten busiest rail corridors across the North and Midlands", by developing rail services along with the required infrastructure in these regions of England. It was published by the Department for Transport (DfT) and features forewords by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, but its publication was delayed a number of times, partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It contains the significant proviso that "In line with the Government's existing approach to rail enhancements, commitments will be made only to progress individual schemes up to the next stage of development, subject to a review of their readiness." A Technical Annexe was published in January 2022. A correction slip was issued March 2022.
