High-speed line could use double-decker carriages

Alstom has released early details and an artist’s impression the train it has pitched for HS2

HS2 could become the first railway in the UK to run double-decker carriages after Alstom revealed the train it is pitching for the high-speed line’s £7.5 billion rolling stock contract.

The French company has released early details and an artist’s impression of the train, which it says would hold 40% more passengers than the 430-500 carried on a standard single-deck train. Alstom said that, because the 225mph HS2 rail line is being built to European standards, a double-decker train would be possible and that it would also be 170mm wider. The cost of the trains would only be slightly higher because the most expensive components would not be affected by the use of two decks.

HS2 said it was too early to discuss the specifications for the trains and that work on the fleet type is under way. But it is known that the captive trains for the line will be 400m long. The tender for the 160 trains is expected to be released next year and the contract awarded in 2019. The possibility of running double-decker trains on HS2 was first mooted in 2012, when the government originally gave the rail line the go-ahead. 

The train would likely be based on Alstom’s Euroduplex, which runs in France, Germany and Spain. The Euroduplex is the third generation of the TGV Duplex train. It entered service in 2011, runs at 199mph and carries up to 1,020 passengers.

Meanwhile the government is continuing to review the financing of HS2 amid concerns that the £55.7 billion high-speed rail project’s costs are spiralling out of control. The review, which is being headed by cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood, is expected to conclude this summer.

The government said: “As is normal for large projects, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority is conducting assurance of the HS2 programme as it proceeds into its delivery phase.”