HS2 Phase 2
Transport Secretary tells business leaders that the Government has no intention of scrapping Phase 2 of HS2.
SECRETARY of State for Transport Chris Grayling has firmly rejected rumours that Phase 2 of HS2 could be scrapped.
Speaking to a gathering of prominent business leaders from the Midlands and the North in Westminster on January 24, he dismissed as “completely inaccurate” any suggestion that the Government would not legislate for construction of the route north of Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester.
With main construction due to begin on Phase 1 from London to Birmingham later this year, doubts had been raised over the future of Phase 2, following a report in the Sunday Telegraph last November that Grayling had told a rail industry conference that it was “not in the bag”.
Fears were heightened on January 6 when Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss told the same publication that the Government could opt to pull the plug on “junk white elephant” projects, as part of a post-Brexit comprehensive spending review due later this year.
Other MPs were also said to be nervous over the project’s ability to keep within its total funding envelope of £56 billion, following claims made in a BBC Panorama programme broadcast on December 17 2018 that land costs had been underestimated by “almost 100%” ( RAIL 870).
Grayling’s most recent remarks followed the publication of an open letter urging party leaders to urgently commit to completion of HS2 Phase 2.
Drafted by sub-national transport body Midlands Connect, and Midlands Engine, the Northern Powerhouse Partnership and Core Cities, the letter explained that more than 25 million people living in the East Midlands, the North and Scotland “should not be denied the job and growth opportunities that HS2 brings. It must continue beyond Birmingham.”
A Parliamentary reception was held on January 24 for the letter’s 40-plus signatories, at which further contributions were made by a panel chaired by Transport