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Alternative locations for HS2 East Midlands Hub to be explored

More work needs to be done to determine the exact location for the HS2 East Midlands Hub, according to Sir David Higgins. 

In the HS2 chair’s latest report – ‘Rebalancing Britain: From HS2 towards a national transport strategy’ – he casts doubt on whether Toton was the “best physical choice”. 

Alternative station sites to the west of Toton are now to be examined, which can provide better road and rail connections via the M1 and Midland Main Line respectively. 

“A combination of geography, historic land use and existing infrastructure makes it difficult to come up with the perfect solution for the East Midlands,” the report said. 

“The current proposal suggests a new station for HS2 at Toton, located between Derby and Nottingham, to maximise the benefit for the whole region and avoid a zero-sum game in which one city gains at the expense of the other. To their credit both cities recognise that and, therefore, fundamentally I believe the East Midlands hub continues to make sense. There is a question, however, as to whether the particular location at Toton is the best physical choice.” 

It has been rumoured that the site, if not at Toton, could be located somewhere between Long Eaton and Breaston. 

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