Up to seven significant alterations to original route expected to be put out for further consultation

The route for the second phase of HS2 is due to be confirmed on Tuesday, with communities in the north of England ready to discover how the high-speed rail network will affect them.

Up to seven significant alterations to the original route are expected to be put out for further consultation, and they are likely to provoke outcry in affected areas.

The government is committed to pressing ahead with the broad Y-shaped route to Leeds and Manchester, which it claims will provide up to three times as many intercity train seats and free up more space on existing lines for commuter services.

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According to the Department for Transport (DfT), there will be almost 15,000 seats per hour on trains between London and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, compared with 5,000 now.

A proposed route was first published in 2013 for the northern half of HS2, but a review of the programme and debate over the location of stations, especially around Sheffield, means detailed plans have been delayed by almost two years from the original schedule. However, DfT still says it expects the £55bn scheme to be fully operational by 2033.

The hybrid bill to secure the first phase of building HS2, between London and Birmingham, is expected to pass through parliament this autumn, allowing work to commence next year.

Legislation for the rest of the route is expected to be introduced in 2019. A “Phase 2a” would build the line as far as Crewe for service in 2027.

There is widespread support for the second phase in northern cities, who have been keen to secure transport links. Much of the opposition to HS2 has so far been focused in the Chilterns, where construction will bring no benefit to those affected.

However, the detailed route is likely to turn more communities to opposition. After a revision was made in July to the high-speed track’s path through the East Midlands, with a branch to Sheffield, residents on a newly built estate were told they faced compulsory purchase of their homes for demolition.