Wars. The Preston Station Free Buffet Association served free hot drinks, biscuits and buns and sold sandwiches at cost price to anyone in uniform 24 hours a day for the duration of the First World War. Four hundred women working 12-hour shifts served over 3 million men between 1915 and 1919. 12 million cups of tea were served between 1939 and 1945. It was funded by subscription and had its own marked crockery. The station was on a major north–south route for troops. There are three commemorative plaques related to the First World War buffet in the waiting room on platforms 3 and 4, the former site of WWI buffet. One of the drama segments of the televised Preston Passion of 2012 was set in the First World War servicemen's buffet. The Second World War buffet was located in the southern building further down platforms 5&6 (now platforms 3&4). One of the catenary stanchions on platform 4 is notably better kept than others, and carries a small plaque detailing the visit of Queen Elizabeth II on 7 May 1974, after the completion of electrification of tracks north of the point where it stands. This was significant because it marked the completion of the total electrification of the West Coast Main Line. Future services Merseyrail Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Long Term Rail Strategy document of October 2017, page 37, states a review in 2020 to introduce new Merseyrail battery trains will be undertaken, in view to put Preston onto the Merseyrail network by extending the Merseyrail Northern Line from Ormskirk to Preston. The aim is to have Preston one of the terminals of the Northern Line. The document states, "The potential use of battery powered Merseyrail units may improve the business case". HS2 Preston will be a part of the "classic compatible" sections of the High-Speed 2 network. This will see journey times from London reduced by 50 minutes to 1 hour and 18 minutes. Travel times from Birmingham will be reduced by 46 minutes to 50 minutes. In order to accommodate HS2's 400m long trains, platforms 3c and 4c will be filled to allow for platforms 3 and 4 to be extended. Services that currently use platforms 3c and 4c will be diverted to the parcel platform on the western side of the station, which will be reopened to passenger traffic and renamed to Platform 0. HS2 Services The