‘HS2 TO BE AXED’
EASTERN LINE OF RAIL LINK THROUGH COUNTY IS ‘ALL BUT SCRAPPED’
A CONTROVERSIAL link from Birmingham to Leeds as part of the multi-billion pound HS2 rail project has been all but scrapped, according to a Whitehall insider.
The link, which would have cut through swathes of northwest Leicestershire, is to be mothballed, according to reports.
The source at the heart of government is reported to have said: “They have run out of cash There’s no way we’re going to see this built in our lifetimes.”
A CONTROVERSIAL multi-billion pound government project which would have seen the HS2 railway line carved through Leicestershire has been all but scrapped.
Costs have reportedly forced a U-turn over the eastern leg of HS2, which would have connected Birmingham with Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds via the north west of Leicestershire.
The line is set to be mothballed, reports our sister paper the Mirror, after HS2’s costs rocketed from £32.7 billion in 2012 when first tabled to £107.7 billion – with one insider stating: “There’s no way we’re going to see this built in our lifetimes.”
While the high speed railway project was not planned to stop off in the county, it would have impacted thousands in Leicestershire along a 19-mile section.
This was set to roughly follow the line of the A42 dual carriageway as the spur made its way north from Birmingham, ultimately connecting Leeds with London.
It would have required major earthworks, several viaducts, the realignment of the A42 and other roads and even a tunnel under East Midlands Airport at Castle Donington in order to connect with a proposed Toton station, near Nottingham and Derby.
It had been estimated that HS2 was set to cause around £30 million of environmental impact to Leicestershire alone.
On the other hand, a report by Leicestershire County Council had previously asserted that the HS2 line’s construction could result in a £30 million boost for the area.
Treasury chiefs reckon halting the eastern leg – due to open by 2033 – will save the government £40 billion.
A Whitehall source told Mirror Online: “They might make some announcement about doing the work in the future, but everyone involved in this knows the truth.
“They have run out of cash.
There’s no way we’re going to see this built in our lifetimes.”
Initial works on the eastern leg – known as Phase 2b - were halted last month.
While Leicestershire’s section was yet to get under way, Leeds has already started work on a £500 million station to serve HS2, with other projects in the city relying on it.
It is thought that a formal announcement to knock back the scheme will be contained in the impending Integrated Rail Plan.
The much-delayed report, which will also reveal the government’s intentions for Northern Powerhouse Rail and the Midlands Rail Hub, was due back in January.
The Department for Transport insisted at the weekend that “no decisions” had been finalised on the delivery of the route.
Construction on the western leg of HS2, from Birmingham to Manchester, is set to continue despite being some £30 billion over budget.