HS2: Crewe to get green light as major station on rail-link's northerly route
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Your support makes all the difference.The second phase of the railway should run through Crewe rather than Stoke-on-Trent, the chairman of HS2, Sir David Higgins, will confirm next month.
Only about 12 miles apart, Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent have been engaged in a fierce competition over where a major station along the Y-shaped and second northerly section of the high-speed route should be located.
The rivalry has sometimes erupted into name-calling. Stoke-on-Trent council leader Mohammed Pervez branded Crewe a "fourth division" town in March, while the Cheshire East leader, Michael Jones, retorted that his opposite number should be ensuring HS2 was a "win win" for everyone in the region.
Sir David declared Crewe as his preferred option after being brought in as a troubleshooter for HS2 at the start of the year as the project costs reached £42.7bn, about £10bn more than initial estimates. The Government will have to approve his recommendation, but this is considered a formality.
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