THE future of HS2 is in doubt after the UK Government announced a fundamental review of the controversial £56 billion project but one union chief suggested it provided a “golden opportunity” to extend the scheme to Scotland.
Some £7.4 billion has already been spent on, among other things, buying up properties and landscaping.
Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said the review would be “rigorous” and stressed how the Government needed “clear evidence” before proceeding with the major infrastructure project.
“Just give us the facts,” declared Mr Shapps. “Then we will know and we will be in a much better position to make the decision to go or no go by the end of the year.”
- READ MORE: HS2 ‘could exceed budget by £30 billion’
Boris Johnson first raised his desire to reappraise HS2 during the Conservative leadership campaign in June. At the time, he suggested, if he won the contest and became Prime Minister, his government would “look at the business case” and “think about whether and how we proceed”.
Douglas Oakervee, the former Chairman of HS2 Ltd, who has previously said it would be “catastrophic” if HS2 were cancelled, will lead the review. But his deputy, Lord Berkeley, is a long-term critic of the high-speed railway scheme.
The Department for Transport said the review would use all existing evidence on the project to consider: its benefits and impacts; affordability and efficiency; deliverability and scope; and phasing, including its relationship with Northern Powerhouse Rail.
It will consider the potential for cost reductions by changing the scope of the project covering such things as:
*reducing the speed of the trains;
*making Old Oak Common the London terminus "at least for a period" instead of Euston;
*building only Phase 1 between London and Birmingham;
*combining Phase 2a - extending the line to Crewe - with Phase 1 and
*altering plans for Phase 2b, which currently involves taking the line to Manchester and Leeds.
Manuel Cortes, General Secretary of the TSSA rail union, said the Government was “going down the wrong track with this review” and argued it should first and foremost be considering the vast economic, social and environmental benefits of HS2 to the whole country.
- READ MORE: HS2 operation contract decision delayed
“This is a golden opportunity – using a clean and green scheme - to put rocket boosters under regional economies across the country, create thousands of additional jobs and better connect cities.”
He added: “We need HS2 to run the length of Britain - from London to Scotland - delivering 21st century transport links which will reboot our economy beyond the south east."
In July, Allan Cook, the HS2 Chairman, wrote to the department, stressing how the high-speed line could not be delivered within its £56bn budget; he suggested another £30bn might be needed.
HS2 would connect London, the Midlands and northern England using trains capable of travelling at 250mph.
The first part of the major infrastructure project between London and Birmingham is due to open at the end of 2026 with the second part to Leeds and Manchester expected to be completed by 2033.
HS2 will cut journey times significantly: from Birmingham to London from one hour and 21 minutes to 49 minutes; from Manchester to London from two hours and eight minutes to one hour and eight minutes; and from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London from four hours and 30 minutes to three hours and 30 minutes.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel