Plans for the HS2 rail line route near Lichfield, Staffordshire, have been altered, the company responsible for the Government-backed project has announced.
The amended route will now pass under the A38, the West Coast Main Line and the South Staffordshire line rather than run over them on viaducts. The alignment will also be amended to remove two crossings over the Trent and Mersey Canal.
These changes reflect what many local residents and stakeholders, including the Canal & Rivers Trust, requested during the Hybrid Bill’s petitioning process.
The changes reduce the size of embankments in the area and mean large sections of the railway will run in cutting, limiting its visual impact on the landscape.
