The Department’s November 2023 update to Parliament stated that “No decisions have been made on the train service that will run when HS2 is operational.”33 The Department told us it had developed “an outline train specification that sets out an assumed service”, but before bringing it into service there would need to be proper consultation nearer the time. Final decisions would need to take account of the economic conditions and the demand at the time. It explained that some assumptions are m...

The Department’s November 2023 update to Parliament stated that “No decisions have been made on the train service that will run when HS2 is operational.”33 The Department told us it had developed “an outline train specification that sets out an assumed service”, but before bringing it into service there would need to be proper consultation nearer the time. Final decisions would need to take account of the economic conditions and the demand at the time. It explained that some assumptions are more certain, for example between Birmingham and London, but it needed to work out how to optimise services beyond that, across HS2 and Network Rail, to o Type: conclusion | Number: 16 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: The Department’s November 2023 update to Parliament stated that “No decisions have been made on the train service that will run when HS2 is operational.”33 The Department told us it had developed “an outline train specification that sets out an assumed service”,