HS2 Matters

HS2 in good shape.

RAIL 804 covered the publication of the National Audit Office Progress with preparations for High Speed 2 report, released on June 28.

I have rarely seen a National Audit Office report as positive as this one. Yes, they make some recommendations, but there has been an almost complete turnaround since the last report in 2013.

They once questioned the very existence of plans for HS2. They questioned the need for the project and whether the proposal we had was right. All that has changed completely. They now accept the strategic need for HS2, and that the ‘Y’ is the right model.

I think it is also right to make clear that - despite the best efforts of some - this should not be seen as adversarial in any way. It simply isn’t ‘HS2 in the red corner and NAO in the blue corner’. The project is reaching the stage where we are about to issue contracts worth billions and billions of pounds of public money, and it is absolutely right that people make sure we are in the best shape possible to do that.

Moreover, if NAO or anyone else has sensible suggestions about how we might improve delivery, then we are more than prepared to listen (and act as required). To not do so would be churlish at best and obstructive at worst. We’ll listen, we’ll co-operate, and we’ll act.

We have no plans to adjust the timetable as yet, but it is something we will look at. This is a sign of the progress of HS2. It is a welcome sign

of confidence in an uncertain period of change.

We are also absolutely confident that the project can and will be brought in on time and within budget.

We remain on track for a route announcement from the Department for Transport in the autumn and Royal Assent before the end of the year (we have gone too far down the legislative process for a change in Prime Minister/ Chancellor or Transport Minister to affect this greatly).

It is far too early to say how Brexit might affect issues such as working relationships in the supply chain or use of British steel, and so on. In the meantime, we carry on as usual.