HS2: Crewe to get green light as major station on rail-link's northerly route

Crewe has been selected over Stoke-on-Trent for the second phase of the HS2 railway (Getty)

The second phase of the railway should run through Crewe rather than Stoke-on-Trent, the chairman of HS2, Sir David Higgins, will confirm next month.

Only about 12 miles apart, Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent have been engaged in a fierce competition over where a major station along the Y-shaped and second northerly section of the high-speed route should be located.

The rivalry has sometimes erupted into name-calling. Stoke-on-Trent council leader Mohammed Pervez branded Crewe a "fourth division" town in March, while the Cheshire East leader, Michael Jones, retorted that his opposite number should be ensuring HS2 was a "win win" for everyone in the region.

Sir David declared Crewe as his preferred option after being brought in as a troubleshooter for HS2 at the start of the year as the project costs reached £42.7bn, about £10bn more than initial estimates. The Government will have to approve his recommendation, but this is considered a formality.