HS2 and Stoke-on-Trent, part two

Part one

The government-backed proposed route for HS2 completely by-passes the Six Towns

Stoke-on-Trent city council engineers have “drawn up proposals to “upgrade the existing line to Manchester in a move which could save the Government as much as £5 billion on its current High Speed Two (HS2) proposals”, Stoke’s Sentinel reported.

[‘Stoke-on-Trent to submit bid for HS2 railway station’, January 22, 2014]

The authority says that a station is essential in transforming the fortunes of the city, paving the way for millions of pounds of investment and thousands of new jobs.
[…]
The plans will go before the full council and its meeting next week and if approved, they will be submitted to the Government as part of its consultation by the end of the month.

“Build a HS2 station in Stoke”?

“Upgrade the existing line”?

Wasn’t the point of building HS2 supposed to be about avoiding “disruption” from upgrading the existing line?