CREWE Town Council has issued a plea to HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to bring high speed trains into the town’s existing station, to drive forward the regeneration of the surrounding area.

The current preferred option for HS2 is to develop a brand new dedicated hub station for the £45.6 billion Phase Two section of the railway.

But in letters sent to the chief executives of HS2 Ltd and Network Rail, the authority has put forward an option that would allow HS2 trains to stop at the current station.

“By constructing a second link between the main line and HS2, north of the proposed new tunnel under Crewe, some HS2 trains could stop in Crewe station and then re-join the HS2 line to continue northwards,” said Clr Tony Davison, chair of the economic development committee."

Clr Kevin Hickson, leader of Crewe Town Council, said placing the hub south of Crewe to serve new employment sites in Basford could draw investment from the town centre.

“Employment sites at Basford are important for the future of the town, but they will go ahead with or without the relocation of Crewe station,” he added.

“In fact only last month it was predicted that the construction of the Crewe Green Link Road would create 12, 500 jobs there.

“However, if the existing station is closed, shops and hotels in the vicinity will lose trade, and there will be no incentive for new investment in the area.”

The first phase of HS2, running from London to Birmingham, has already been supported in parliament.

The second phase will see trains continue on to Manchester and Liverpool.

In March this year, Sir David Higgins, the Chairman of HS2 Ltd, published recommendations to expedite Phase Two, building as far north as Crewe, where a hub station would allow users to transfer to local and West Coast Main Line services.